Jump City Cantata
by Japhith
Summary: Robin returns to Gotham, seeking revenge for Batgirl. The other Titans, left in Raven's charge, find their lives spiraling out of control as they each head down their own life altering paths. Sequel to Jump City Sonata.
1. Chapter 1

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans fanfiction by Jake McDonald

Opening Notes: The long awaited sequal to Jump City Sonata is here! Well, long awaited meaning for like, a week. At any rate, if you're just jumping into the story now, you should definetly go back and read Sonata first. You wont understand a damn thing otherwise, and I don't want flames from people telling me how OOC the cast is. I mean, yeah they're all OOC! I screwed with 'em big time in the last story! So read Sonata FIRST. Really, it's not that bad of a story. I've had nothing except positive reviews for it, and a good number of those at that.

Please note: this story has an 'R' rating. It's there for a good reason. This isn't a lemon by any means, but there is sex, there is swearing, and there is adult situations. I'm not sure if I'll include drug use in this story, but there was some in the last one, so don't be suprised if it pops up again.

Standard disclaimers apply: I don't own Teen Titans at all. Not a bit. Nothin'. Damnit...

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

Titan Tower stood tall and strong, a silent sentinel watching over Jump City. The waves lapped against the shore of the island it sat on, a gentle breeze blew in across the bay, and one other sound mingled with the tranquil early evening symphony. A voice, low and steady, repeating the same three words over and over again, melding it's tone with that of the nature around it.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." Raven chanted from the roof of the tower, feeling out with her very being to the world around her. She was one with the water, the wind, the earth....

A loud beeping broke her out of her trance. With a sigh, she dug out her T-Comp and checked to see what it was.

Her alarm had been set, but for what? Her mind was still fuzzy from having just come out of such deep meditation, and she took several seconds to remember what was happening at six o' clock.

Patrol time. That was it. But what else? There was something about Cyborg....

"Sarah." she mumbled. Vanishing into a swirl of darkness, she reappeared seconds latter in the garage. The T-Car was still there.

Flipping open her T-Comp again, Raven spoke into it, "Raven to Cyborg."

A second latter the reply came, "Go ahead Raven."

"Why the hell are you still here? I told you to go see Sarah tonight."

"I know! I'm coming down now.... for crying out loud Rae, I'M going on this date, not you."

"Just get your ass down here." Raven snapped her T-Comp shut and tucked it away in a cloak pocket. She stood exactly where she was for two minutes before the doors of the garage slid open and Cyborg walked in.

He was wearing khakis and a simple blue button down shirt over his body armor. He could never fully hide his cybernetic body, but he could cover most of it, and he always had the bonus of never having to pick out shoes... Raven still had no idea where he shopped to find clothes big enough to fit around his massive frame.

"Why are you so late?" she demanded as he walked over to the T-Car.

"It took me a few minutes longer to get ready then normal." he replied tersely, opening the door and getting in.

"Don't lie to me." Raven narrowed her eyes.

"Alright, look Raven...." Cyborg glared at her, "I wasn't sure I was going to go." he held up a hand to cut off her protests, "We needed someone available to back you up if you needed it, and I was going to wait up for you and try to talk to you when you got back from patrol."

"Why-" he cut her off before she could even voice the question.

"Because you're acting really weird. Weirder then normal anyway." his tone softened, "We're all worried about you Rae..."

"Don't be. I can handle what I'm going through. And I'm ORDERING you to turn off your communicator tonight. No interruptions. If I need help, I'll call the others."

"I don't think-"

"Stop thinking then." Raven's tone brooked no arguments. The conversation was over.

Cyborg sighed and shook his head, "You know Rae, you're one hard woman." he looked her in the eye, "But not even you can always take on everything alone. Think about it, and if you don't want to talk, fine. I'm always here though, you know that."

"I do." Raven nodded, and drew up her hood, "No get out of here before I MAKE you get out of here."

Cyborg rolled his eye and closed the door of the T-Car. The engine turned over and he was off in seconds. Raven watched him depart, then took flight. She left the garage and flew straight up, past the top of the Tower.

As she flew towards the city, she contemplated Cyborg's words. Should she tell them about what was happening? The seed was getting harder to repress, and it could pose a danger to them if she couldn't stop it...

No, she could stop it. It would take a few days, but she could do it. Deciding not to bother her friends with her problems, she switched her focus to the streets beneath her, scanning for any signs of trouble.

* * *

Robin stopped at the receptionists desk in Gotham General Hospital and cleared his throat. The nurse sitting behind the desk looked up at him with a bored look on her face. She was in her mid twenties, had far too much makeup on, and was chewing gum with her mouth open.

"Yeah?" she asked as she smacked her gum. Her eyes raked up and down his lean frame, taking in every inch of him. He noticed her sticking her chest out just a bit more as she sat up straighter.

Robin's eye twitched. He had to keep telling himself that he wasn't wearing his mask or his uniform, so he couldn't expect to demand instant respect when he walked into a building. This lady annoyed him to no end though, so he decided the 'snobby ward of a multi-billionaire' routine would work well.

"I'm here to see Barbara Gorden." he replied with a tilt of his nose and a stare that made most people feel infinitely inferior.

If the nurse was feeling inferior in any way, she was hiding it well, "Visiting hours are over."

"My name should be on a list. I was supposed to come see her as soon as I got in to Gotham." he tried to sound angry, he really did, but it had been a long day and he hadn't slept very well the night before. He was too tiered to really care about the nurse's attitude problem.

He watched as she rolled her eyes at him and pulled a clipboard from across the desk towards herself. Her eyes traveled lazily down the page and she smacked her gum again, "What was your name again?"

"Richard Grayson." he said it with as much of a normal voice as he could. Sighing, he watched as her eyes grew wide and snapped up to him. She stammered for a second before finding her voice.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Grayson! Um... right this way!" the nurse jumped up and rushed around the desk. She took off down the corridor at a brisk pace. Robin followed.

She stopped in front of an observation window a few doors down the hall and looked in. Robin stopped behind her and gazed in as well. His breath caught at what he saw.

Babs was hooked up to at least four or five different machines, ranging from a heart monitor to a respirator. Blankets were pulled up to her waist, and he could see that her midsection was heavily bandaged. She looked so small and alone, lying in a semi-dark room all by herself...

He had sworn to himself he wouldn't tear up or cry, but now he was fighting it tooth and nail, "Can I go in?"

The nurse checked a chart, and reviewed some readings at a panel on the wall, "Yeah, just for a few minutes. She should be left alone to rest for a few days... the surgery was... long."

"How bad is the damage?"

".... the bullet wound actually wasn't that bad. It only grazed her kidney, missed everything else some how. It's just..." she trailed off and looked like she was about to cry herself.

"What?" Robin swiped at his eyes and tore them away from Barbara's sleeping form.

"The bullet hit her spine. It... shattered. Destroyed several vertebrae. It was low on her body, so only that half was effected...." the nurse looked into his eyes and straightened up, taking on that air that medical personal took on when they were telling you bad news, "She'll never walk again."

Robin closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Babs was a natural athlete. She had learned to fight with Batman and himself, had been on three sports teams in high school, and had never had a physical challenge she couldn't overcome, but this... This was permanent spinal damage. There was no overcoming this one.

He finally nodded, composed himself and walked to the door. Opening it, he stepped into the room and shut it behind him softly. Moving to her bed side, he found a chair and sat down in it.

"Hey Babs." he said softly, "I hear you had a bit of an accident..." he trailed off. Talking to a person in a coma always seemed a bit ridiculous to him. They couldn't hear you, and wouldn't respond to you any more then they would a potted plant. He did it any way, "Seems like you'll be out of the action now... but don't worry. I'll get the bastard that did this, and I'll make him pay. He'll pay until his stupid clown face is nothing but a mess of blood and bone... I'll kill him... I'll...." he stopped realizing he was losing control. Never kill. Never take a life.

"I'll get him, Babs." Robin looked down at her face and brushed a thumb across her cheek, "I'll get him."

* * *

Beast Boy sat in a bean bag chair on the floor of his room, a set of bongo drums between his knees. He grinned across the way at Starfire, also seated in a bean bag chair, who had an African flute-like instrument raised to her lips. Jinx sat in a chair near the Tameranian with a guitar resting on her lap. She spoke clearly and in perfect time.

"One, two, three, four." and in tandem they all began to play. Beast Boy provided a steady beat, not too fast, but not too slow, varied tones from his two drums providing rhythm and style. Star played low, long notes, giving the small jam session a base line to work from. She had never played the flute before Beast Boy had shown her the four notes she now knew, so the base line was fairly simple, but still in perfect time.

Jinx's guitar sang out a haunting melody, blending with the music her two companions were playing perfectly. She had her eyes closed as her fingers danced across the strings, giving her the appearance of a blind woman strumming an instrument she'd been playing all her life.

When Jinx had invaded Beast Boy's room an hour ago, she had been impressed by the African instruments he collected. It was one of the few things he did that had nothing to do with a TV set, so he was appreciative that she had noticed. Soon after, she had retrieved her guitar and they were playing. Drawn by the sound, Starfire had joined them.

The song continued on for several minutes before Star fell out of time and they got thrown off. As they stopped, the three of them giggled and set their instruments aside.

"What fun!" Starfire smiled broadly at her friends, "I learned to play the Gathglorm when I was younger, but this flute is very different... may I borrow it to learn more, Beast Boy?"

"Definitely! We can do this more often then! You know, just get together and jam. It's really kinda' relaxing." the changeling grinned at her.

"And who knew Beast Boy had such great rhythm?" Jinx smiled at him and he blushed a bit.

"Who knew you could play guitar so well? You're really good, Jinx." Beast Boy smiled back at her, and they seemed to share a moment. Starfire grinned behind her hand.

"I am feeling quite sleepy now!" she said as she stood up with the flute, "I think I shall retire to my sleeping chambers."

"Aw, but it's still early!" Beast Boy, oblivious to what his friend was doing, jumped up and walked over to her, "If you stay and play some more, I'll make you some extra yummy soy eggs for breakfast!"

"I think I will pass this time, Beast Boy." Star leaned in and pecked him on the cheek, "Goodnight. And to you as well, Jinx."

"What, I don't get a kiss too?" Jinx grinned.

"Oh!" Star flew over to her, "I am sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel left out!" and she kissed Jinx's cheek as well. Smiling a sunny smile, Star flew back to the door, "Goodnight friends!"

"Night Star..." Beast Boy looked dazed.

"Latter." Jinx waved as the Tameranien floated out the doors, and they slid shut. She turned to Beast Boy, "What's your deal?"

"Girl on girl action is so hot." Beast Boy grinned at her.

"Oh, shut up!" Jinx lifted a pillow from the ground next to her (Beast Boy's room was filled with them) and whipped it at him.

Beast Boy simply turned into a kangaroo and spun around, slapping the pillow right back at her with his tail. I plowed her out of her chair and back into another pile of pillows.

"Oh, that's it!" Jinx jumped up, double fisting more ammo, "This is war now, BB!" and she threw the pillows with all her might, following them with a wave of pink energy. Beast Boy tried a tricky flipping beaver return move, but Jinx's spell hit him squarely, and he slipped up mid-flip. Both pillows found their mark, and he thudded to the ground as himself again.

Jumping to his feet, he charged in at her, swinging a bean bag as he went.

Jinx braced for impact as she giggled and grabbed another pillow.

* * *

Cyborg parked the T-Car up near the front of the parking lot of the Wayside Bar and Grill. He clambered out, shut the door, and hit the remote locking button on his key chain, "Wouldn't you know it?" he muttered, "Rock Star parking...."

The short walk to the doors was filled with people in the parking lot and standing just outside the entrance staring at him and whispering to each other.

"Dude, is that Cyborg?"

"Mommy! It's a Teen Titan!"

"It's the mettle dude from the Titans!"

"Cyborg rocks dude! He can blow stuff us with his arm!"

"He's a lot taller in person..."

Cy remembered a time when he used to mope about after encounters like this one, because he heard people muttering about how scared they were of him. He had, in fact, met Sarah on one of those days, and she had pulled him out of his funk. A week later they were going steady.

That had been two years ago, and now the citizens of Jump City had warmed up to the imposing titanium giant who protected their city along with the other Teen Titans. He heard far more complements than complaints now.

As he walked through the doors, he looked around for a host or hostess. Spotting a young lady taking names by a small podium, he walked over and smiled down at her.

The hostess looked up at him with wide eyes and stuttered out, "H-hello."

"Evening." he grinned a little wider, showing his nice white teeth.

"W-welcome to Wayside Bar and Grill... how many?" she seemed to be gaining confidence now.

"I'm meeting someone here actually. Blonde girl named Sarah?" he motioned around his chest level, "About this tall?"

"Oh! She said she had a kind of famous guy meeting her here tonight, but we didn't expect a Titan!" the hostess blushed, "Hey, you know if Robin has a girlfriend?"

Cyborg chuckled and shook his head, "Yeah, he's dating a girl."

"Oh." her face fell, "Any chance they'll be breaking up?"

"Naw, they work together."

"Starfire then." she said glumly, "Everyone knows they have a thing."

"Everyone?" Cy arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's in the Jump City Eyeball all the time."

"A tabloid is reporting on the Titans?"

"Hate to break it to you, but you have your own section."

Cyborg rolled his eye, "Great."

"Your friend is right over here, sir."

"Thanks." he shook his head again as she led him to a table near the back of the building, next to the huge windows that looked out over the bay. Titan Tower was visible in the distance, and the stars and moon shown brightly over the water. The lights around the back of the restaurant had been dimmed to let in more of the natural light from outside, and a single candle burned on each table.

Cyborg noticed instantly that all the tables around the one Sarah was seated at were empty, probably by her request. She knew how much he hated being interrupted by people asking for autographs while they were on a date.

That was when he noticed Sarah. She was staring out the window, so her head was turned away from him slightly, revealing her long, graceful neck. Her hair was pulled up tonight in a long pony tail that trailed down to the middle of her back. It would spill down past her shapely rear if it wasn't pulled up, he knew. Her top was a sleeveless sky blue number that stood in stark contrast to her California tanned skin. Her white skirt was long, dropping to her ankles, with two short slits up to her knees on either side.

He glanced down at her feet with a smile, knowing what he'd see. Flip-flops. Always flip-flops. She'd even worn them to her senior prom the year before.

The hostess stopped several tables away, seeing all his attention was focused on his girlfriend. She smiled and walked off to tell the waiter not to bother them for a little while.

Cyborg walked up to the table as quietly as he could and slid into the chair across from Sarah, "Hey girl." he said softly.

She turned her head to look at him and smiled sadly, "Hey."

They stared at each other for a few moments, then both blurted out in unison, "I'm sorry!" They broke down into laughter after staring at each other again for a moment.

Cyborg held up a hand to quell both of their laughter, "I'll go first." he said and cleared his throat, "I'm sorry for all that crap I said. I love hanging out with the kids, and I love umpiring the baseball games... I really miss 'em actually. I love the way you smell, especially your breath in the morning," he paused to let her give him a sarcastic look, "and I need you more than I think I do." he grew quiet, "It's been hell without you around. I've really realized how much the time we spend together helps me unwind and forget about saving the world."

Sarah smiled and reached across the table, grasping his hand, "I'm sorry for all the stuff I said too... it's hard to feel... aroused... when all you have to rub against is metal, but you still manage to make me feel... well..." she blushed, "Anyway, you ARE handsome, and you DO smell _wonderful_... and you're a great kisser... don't ever let any girl tell you otherwise, by the way."

"I really don't think I'll have to worry about that, since there's only one girl I want to kiss me..."

Sarah grinned, "Shut up and let me finish, you." he chuckled, "Alright, what else did I say when I was pissed off.... oh yeah. I really do wish you would be more available..."

On cue, the communicator in his arm crackled to life, "Raven to Cyborg."

Cy looked pained as he taped the button to respond, "Cy here."

"I ordered you to turn this damn thing off, you big metal bastard. Now shut it the hell off!" there was a click as Raven signed off.

Sarah arched an eye brow, "She ORDERED you to shut it off?"

Cyborg shook his head sheepishly, "Yeah, Raven's in charge while Robin is out of town. He had some business to take care of back in Gotham."

"WHY did she order you to turn it off?" Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"Because she seems to think she's my mother." Cyborg hit a few buttons on his arm and the panel slid shut, "There, turned off."

"Why-" Sarah was cut off by Cyborg placing a finger to her lips,

"Because I'm supposed to be more available, remember? Raven doesn't trust easily, she doesn't make friends very easily, and she really doesn't like people very much." he gave her a meaningful look, "She does like _you_ though, Sarah, and she does what she needs to do to make her friends happy. Both of us." he smiled and took his finger back, "Now what were you saying?"

"That I wish you'd stop rushing off to fight crime every time we get together, but it looks like that's been taken care of." Sarah looked a little startled, "Raven really likes me? She's only met me a few times..."

"Try about ten or twenty. She did come hang out with us in the park when the Titans were just kicking around. You always came too."

"We only talked for a few minutes at any given time." Sarah pointed out.

"For Raven, that's a whole lot of talking."

"Right..." Sarah grinned and shook her head, "Did I say I was sorry for telling you that I thought all of your friends were stupid?"

"No, but that goes without saying. You think BB is a riot, Robin is smart, Starfire is the sister you never had, and Raven is cool in that dark and creepy kind of way." Cyborg ticked off his friends on his fingers as he spoke of them.

"You know me so well...." Sarah smiled sadly again, "The last thing... the one that really made you mad..." she trailed off as she saw the pain in his one human eye. Gathering up her courage, she pressed on, "I know we're still young, and I know we shouldn't start planning our lives out just yet, but Cy... I really love you." a tear trailed down her cheek, "I'd be happy spending the rest of my life with you... even if we can't have kids."

Cy reached across the table and took her hand, "Hey, we can always adopt."

Sarah laughed as more tears fell to the table, "You're completely serious aren't you? You'd marry me and adopt kids right away if we decided to wouldn't you?"

"Hell yes. I've never loved anyone like I love you, Sarah. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Sarah leaned across the table at the same time he did, and they pressed their lips together, holding the kiss for a solid minute. After they broke apart, Cy ran a finger down her cheek, "We CAN hold off on the kids for a few years, right?"

Sarah dissolved into giggles, "Yeah, sure."

"And about getting married... well, I'll have to save up a bit first... the JL only pays me so much you know, and even if I got a job then-"

"We can hold off on getting married for a few years too." Sarah picked up a menu and slapped him in the head with it, "Now let's order some food. I'm starving."

"Now you're talking like the girl I love!" Cyborg picked up his own menu and as they browsed them, they started talking and laughing as if the past few months had never happened.

* * *

Raven clicked her T-Comp shut and shook her head. The big lug head would never learn.

She stared off across the city from her perch on top of a gargoyle some forty floors up on a sky scraper. Her legs dangled over the edge and she kicked them lightly as she sank into contemplation again.

The seed was dormant at the moment, but it was acting up more and more often when she grew even slightly agitated. Deep meditation was required before she could find out more, but she was almost afraid of what she would find. At eighteen years old, she was an adult now, and the seed might have reached maturity with her.

So what would happen? Would her Father's essence burst out of her and shroud the world in darkness? Would she manifest his malign will and do horrible things in his name? There were too many questions and no way to answer them without great personal risk.

On top of the worries about her Father's essence buried deep inside of her, she was also feeling... more aroused lately. Like it had been before she had slept with Brandon. Ever since Robin had kissed her two days before, she'd been feeling more and more horny. It was getting to the point where she didn't know if she'd even be able to meditate deeply enough to access her inner fears and confront her Father.

With a sigh, Raven let herself slip off of the gargoyles head and plummet towards the ground in a free fall. It was liberating to loose control like this sometimes, and it helped her regain focus when she stopped herself. It was a game she liked to play, to see how close she could get to the ground before she halted her decent.

Three inches this time. She floated there for a moment, the people around her staring in awe at the girl who had just fallen from the sky. When they saw who it was, they all clapped and cheered for her as she landed.

After taking a quick bow and waving, she turned to walk to the nearest coffee house and grab a nice strong cup. She was planning on being out late tonight, and wanted to be as alert as possible.

Starbucks was in sight when she heard a short scream, followed by a woman screeching, "He took my purse! He took my purse!" looking across the street, Raven saw a young man sprinting away, and a middle aged business woman type screaming for help.

Raven sighed and shook her head. Holding out a hand, she muttered in a lazy voice, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." and a dumpster flew out of an ally way right in front of the purse snatcher, blocking his path.

It was with a fair amount of surprise that Raven saw the guy simply jump up and roll over the top of it, landing on his feet and continuing on as if nothing had happened.

Narrowing her eyes, Raven took flight and gave chase. The kid sure could run fast, she'd give him that, but she could fly a lot faster. Just as she caught up to him, he ducked down an ally way, and she was forced to fly low under a fire escape.

"Stop!" she yelled as he hit the back of the ally way and jumped high to climb the chain link fence that separated it from the next street over. He didn't stop, and with another long suffering sigh, she reached out with her powers again, wrapping the fence around him like a blanket. He struggled, but couldn't get out.

Raven landed next to him and kicked the bundle lightly, "I told you to stop. What part of that didn't you understand?"

"Dude! Let me out of here!" he was average height and build, short blond hair, blue eyes, black clothing. She noticed that he was quite handsome and had a soothing deep voice.

Something inside her moved, and she cursed inwardly. Now was not the time to be thinking about jumping this guys bones.

"You stole something. Give it back."

"I didn't-"

"So you always carry a pink purse then?" she narrowed her eyes, the only part of her face he could see from the darkness inside her cowl.

"Uh.... here...." he tired to shimmy it out of the chain link but he was wrapped too tightly. Raven unwrapped him and held out a hand.

"Come on. You can give it back to the lady you stole it from in person." he grinned and took her hand, pulling himself up. He was about her height, and she looked deeply into his eyes and concentrated. He actually seemed to _want_ to give the purse back. With a slight frown, she probed deeper. Ah.

He was horny too. She noticed he was having trouble keeping his eyes away from her breasts.

A slight smile curled on her lips, "Come on." she took his wrist and pulled him gently out of the ally way. A short walk down the street (she pushed the dumpster back into the ally it had come out of) and they were standing if front of the woman he had stolen the purse from.

"I'm very sorry, ma'am. I'll never do it again." he handed it back with a slight bow.

"Well... I guess.... after all, it's not like a Teen Titan is going to let you run free." the woman took her purse and smiled at Raven, who nodded back at her grimly.

"I'll see he's properly punished. Come on you." and she jerked him down the street, leading him along by the hand.

"You're kidding right?" he asked once they were far enough away from the woman so she wouldn't hear.

"Yeah... I mean, you gave the purse back, didn't you? You were just playing a game."

"How'd you-"

"I can read your basic thoughts. You were just having fun. Illegal fun, granted, but we took care of that."

"Where are we going?" he sounded curious.

"Somewhere private so we can talk."

"Talk?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"What kind of 'talk'?"

"The adult kind." she tugged on his wrist a bit more insistently, "Try to keep up."

He grinned and moved a little faster as she rounded a corner that led them away from Main Street.

Raven waited until they were in a lower traffic area, then pulled him into an ally way with her, "Hold on." she said as she stepped into a shadow and teleported them to the top of the building they were next to.

"Whoa...." the young man said as they stepped out of a shadow and into the moonlight, "That's a trip."

"Come here." Raven grabbed the back of his head and pulled him to her. She crushed her mouth against his, and he eagerly reciprocated. After a few moments, they pulled apart and she attacked his neck, nibbling at the skin of his throat. He groaned as his hands ran up her sides and across her breasts. Her hands pulled at his shirt, found skin and rubbed up his chest. She pushed him away from her and smiled in a saucy manner as she lowered her hood and swept her cloak off.

"Well, I know you're Raven... my name is-" she stepped forward and kissed him again before he could finish,

"I don't want to know. That's part of what makes it exciting..." and she pulled him down to the roof on top of her, where she'd laid her cloak down, "Now let's find out if you know what you're doing downstairs."

He grinned as he kissed his way down her body, then in-between her legs.

Raven threw her head back and gasped. Yeah, he knew what he was doing. As she tugged at her leotard, pulling it off of her arms and slipping out through the top of it, she stared up at the moon. As he continued to work, she grinned.

Not such a bad patrol after all....

* * *

Robin was glad he had kept his keys to the manor doors when he moved to Jump City. As he let himself in the back way, by the kitchen, he grinned. He'd never really had the chance to sneak in while he was living here. He'd been too young then, but now he almost felt naughty, like he was coming back from a date that had lasted too long. He half expected to find-

"It's good to see you Master Richard." Alfred said from where he was preparing a tray of sandwiches, "Master Bruce is expecting you in his study."

"Security still works well huh?" Robin asked as he rubbed the back of his neck and hitched up his bag on his shoulder.

"Very well. Would you mind taking the sandwiches with you? The coffee is still brewing...."

"Not at all Alfred. Hey..." he walked over to the elderly butler and hugged him, "I've missed you."

Alfred was shocked for a moment, but hugged the young super hero back with a gentle smile after he recovered, "It's good to have you back, Master Richard. How long will you be staying?"

"As long as it takes." was Robin's reply as he picked up the tray of sandwiches and made for Bruce's study. He paused at the door without turning around, "I'm going to go after the Joker weather Bruce wants me to or not."

"I know, young Robin. I know." He couldn't see Alfred's face, but the butler sounded much older and tiered than Robin had ever known him to. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he worried about the man who had practically raised him.

On the long walk to Bruce's study (the manor was _huge_) Robin thought about what it must be like for Alfred, worrying about not just one, but two men who constantly put themselves in the worst kind of danger, backed up by nothing except their agility and wits. It probably drove him to distraction sometimes, but he kept on patching them up every time they staggered in from the Batcave.

Now that his relationship with Starfire was out in the open, he was starting to appreciate how Alfred felt....

Stopping in front of a set of large oak double doors, Robin raised a hand and knocked. Not even _he_ had the right to just walk into Bruce's study unannounced.

"Come in." came the deep voice from the other side. Opening the doors, Robin was instantly overwhelmed by the sights and sounds that greeted him. He'd spent countless hours in this room, studying, getting lectured, devising new plans with Batman, playing board games with Alfred and Bruce....

"Dick." Bruce said by way of greeting from where he sat at his desk, filling out some paper work. He still had Waynecorp to run on top of being Batman, so he was often up late even when he wasn't out on patrol.

"Bruce." he replied and walked in, "Alfred made us sandwiches. It's been awhile since I ate..." he dropped his bag next to one of the large squishy leather chairs that sat in front of the huge oak desk and sat down in it.

"I haven't eaten much either... not since Barbara...." he trailed off as he laid down his expensive looking pen and grabbed a sandwich of the top of the pile.

Robin spoke quietly, "I stopped by and saw her before I came here."

"I figured you might." Bruce continued to look down at the paper work he was doing while he ate.

"I'll start looking for leads on the Joker tomorrow afternoon. You can join me latter at night if you want." Bruce nodded and grabbed another sandwich.

"Eat, Dick. And then you'll need to get some sleep before you go running all over Gotham looking for the Joker."

As he grabbed a sandwich, Robin grinned, "It feels weird having someone call me that... the rest of the Titan's just call me Robin..." he paused, knowing the conversation that was coming wouldn't be a pleasant one, "except Kori."

"Kori?" Bruce raised an eyebrow as he looked up from his work.

"Yeah... Koriand'r." at his mentors blank look, Robin rolled his eyes, "Didn't you even read the personal files I sent to the Justice League?"

"No. Martian took care of that."

"Koriand'r is Starfire's name. Her Tameranien name." Robin let out a long suffering sigh.

"Am I to assume that she calls you Richard?" Bruce sat back as he took another huge bite.

Robin had his mouth full as he replied, "Yeah."

"So you're seeing her then? How long has this been going on?"

"Um... about a day."

"Bad timing on our part out here. Sorry."

"You're not going to scold me for dating inside the team? Or for dating at all?"

"You'll be eighteen in a month, Dick. I'm not going to run your life for you." Bruce shrugged, "If you think you're old enough to live on the other side of the country and lead a team of super hero's, then you're old enough to have a relationship. Just don't let her impair your judgment or cloud your reason, and use protection when you-"

"Bruce!" Robin cut him off with a laugh, spraying bread crumbs all over the desk, "We are NOT discussing my sex life."

"What? You don't want to compare notes with a rich playboy?" Bruce waggled his eyebrows.

"What notes? You hardly ever bring girls home, and when you do, you make them sleep in on of the guest rooms!"

"Where as you've brought so many girls back to the manor..."

"I brought Babs back here once-"

"And you were too shy to even kiss her. She slept in a guest room, by the way. And you were fourteen, by the way."

Robin shook his head as he laughed. They sat in silence until Alfred arrived with the coffee. Robin declined, as he had to go to sleep soon. As he rose to leave, he looked at Bruce with a serious expression, "Any idea's on where I should start looking?"

"Harley wasn't with him. Find her, find out why, and find out if she can help you find him." was Bruce's reply as he picked up his pen again.

"Right. Contact me if you need anything." and he walked the three hall ways and one staircase to his room. Looking around at it as he stepped inside, he saw that it had been cleaned regularly, but nothing had been changed from the way he left it.

Flopping down on the bed, he stared at the ceiling, the confused feeling he'd had before entering the hospital returning in force. He closed his eyes as he sank into thought, and visions of red hair and dancing green eyes invaded his mind.

The problem was, he couldn't tell who that hair and those eyes belonged to; a girl from another planet, or a girl laid up in a hospital bed right now...

* * *

Three thousand miles away, on the other side of the country, one of those red haired, green eyed girls opened her eyes as she came awake.

"Robin..." Starfire mumbled and rolled over in bed. Sitting up, she let the sheets slide off of her slender frame, exposing bare skin. She hardly ever slept with clothes on, and after sharing a bed with Robin the night before (fully clothed) she was grateful to be able to sleep nude again.

Sliding out of her satin sheeted bed, Star padded over to a wardrobe and pulled out a night gown and a robe. Putting both on, she walked to her door and out into the hall way.

Just as she walked out, Raven was walking past, and they bumped into each other. Startled, Starfire began to fall over, only to have Raven's hand shoot out and grab her arm to steady her. Not realizing her own strength, the psion pulled her friend completely over and they both fell back to the floor with a solid thump.

Star looked down at Raven, who looked back up at her with a quirked eyebrow, "I am sorry, Raven." she grinned bashfully, "You pulled very hard on my arm."

"I'm sorry too. I should have sensed you coming through the door. My mind was else where." Raven smiled a little bit, "Do you think you could let go of my breast? It's starting to turn me on..."

With an 'eep!' Starfire flew up off of Raven and floated a little ways away, "I am sorry! I did not-"

"It's okay Star!" Raven chuckled as she got up off the floor, "I was just joking around." she brushed her cloak off, "Why are you up so late? Early? Whatever?"

"I had a dream of Robin... it was... how can I put this?"

"Steamy? Hot? Wet?"

Starfire cocked her head to the side and nodded, "Yes. All of those."

"More than I wanted to know." Raven shook her head and turned around, "I'm going to bed. I'll be up by 11:30 tomorrow. Have the team assembled in the training room by then. I want to start getting Jinx a feel for how we fight."

"Very well. Goodnight, Friend Raven."

"Night Star." Raven yawned hugely and walked to her room.

Starfire watched her go, then continued down to the kitchen. Maybe an early morning snack would help her to sleep.

* * *

Cyborg pulled his lips up off of Sarah's as they stood by the door of her apartment and stepped back, "I had a great time tonight Baby."

"Yeah, me too." she rubbed his arm, "Call me tomorrow?"

"You bet. Maybe we can set up another date this week. With Jinx around now it's gonna' be hectic training her and with Robin gone, you can bet we're going to run into some kind of trouble."

"I don't expect too much from you Cy. It's great that you were around all night tonight though." she pecked him on the cheek quickly before turning to her door to unlock it, "I'll see you latter."

"Latter." Cy waved over his shoulder as he walked back down the hall way and out the front door of the apartment building. Clambering back into the T-Car, he whistled a happy tune (badly... Cyborg wasn't much of a whistler...) and took off down the street.

He had meant what he had just told Sarah. He was sure Raven would start them on intensive training to develop some combat skills with Jinx, and he would probably have patrol tomorrow night. On top of that, with Robin gone, they were sure to argue more, unless Raven really put her foot down.

It was going to be an interesting few weeks, that was for sure....

* * *

Closing Notes: There it is. Basic story line set up, a few new plot elements, and some forshadowing of things to come. New faces will be popping up in this story, so expect to find some more interesting interactions.

Whoa! I can already feel the heat from those flames! Hey all you Rob/Star shippers, cut it out! I know you want me to get them together, and SOON! Chill out, guys and gals, it'll freakin' HAPPEN, okay? This is a Rob/Star story after all, even if this part centers more on the other members of the team. Chapter two is almost done as well, so look for it in the next few days.

Just a few short notes to a few people...

Heaven's Angel- Yeah, the spacing thing was a bitch. Got it figured out now, though.

an- don't know if you'll be reading this, but no, we're not going to go to a full blown opera. I don't do musicals very well. :) Seriously, I'm just pulling these names out of my limited music thoery knowladge. Only took one class on it you know... prolly going with Symphony next. Yeah, that sounds cool...

vanyd- Bring it on. Track me down and we'll throw down! Oh wait, I posted the sequal so I guess you don't have to. :)

starryStarsStrs56- I think I figured out what you were trying to say... um... try typing coherently next time, kay? Anyway, if you actually read the OTHER five chapters of Sonata, you find out that Star and Robin DO get together in the end. :)

AnimeHimeko- I've been talking to you over the e-mail, so you know what's up. I know you're busy right now with school, so I wont expect any miricals with the next chapter either. As always, you were imensly helpful, and you get FIVE big gold stars!

treefroggy- you jumped on the band wagon kind of late, but made up for it by reviewing EVERY CHAPTER! That's awsome. Keep on reviewing, I like hearing from you!

Everyone else who reviewed Jump City Sonata- Thanks a ton! It makes my day to hear from you people. For those of you who said I'm the best TT writer ever... I don't know about that, but I'm truly flattered.

You may now review if you would like to!

* * *

Next Chapter: Robin and Batman: together again. (Awww... kodak moment!) Raven get's pissy and Beast Boy and Jinx get the brunt of her wrath, Beast Boy and Jinx find themselves in a VERY interesting situation, Cyborg keeps the peace, and Starfire eats waffles.


	2. Chapter 2

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fanfiction by Jake McDonald

Opening Notes: Chapter Two, yay. The delay in the post is was due to me getting down right ill. We're talking can't get out of bed ill. We're talking I ruined my perfect atendence record this semester ill. Yuck.

Lots of stuff happening in this chapter. I have to say I was suprised by the lack of negitive reviews for me having Raven sleeping with some random guy. Just more stuff about how Robin and Star should be together as soon as posibile. Yeah, well, keep reading kids, and you'll see what old Jake has in store for those two love birds.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans because my Mom wont let me.... (sniff)

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Starfire stared out of the huge windows in the rec-room of Titan Tower, out over the bay expanse of water that separated them from the mainland, her mind wandering in paths that seemed to always lead back to the same person. 

Robin had only been gone for a day, and already she missed him terribly. She was sure Raven would make an excellent leader, but the Boy Wonder was just that: a wonder. He was the heart of the team, the one that kept all of them up and running, even when they had all given all they thought they could give. Robin always pushed them further.

Raven was stoic, level headed, and confident. She gave the Titan's their backbone. As she reflected on it, Star figured Robin had made the right choice leaving the psion in charge, as she was probably the second best choice to lead them.

Star glanced at the wall clock and noted that it was 9:35. Time to start rousing people. Cyborg had been through at around 3:00 in the morning, coming home from his date with Sarah. He had told her he was going to plug in for a little while, and to get him up at 9:30 or so.

She would let Raven sleep until 11:00 or so, then rouse her as well. Now, however, she had to wake Beast Boy and Jinx. They would both want to clean up and eat before Raven started putting them through their paces in the training room.

A quick trip up in the elevator brought her to the residential floor, and Starfire floated down the hall to Jinx's room. She would wake the girl first, to give her more time to get ready. That and Beast Boy was about as easy to wake up as a hibernating Lorthak.

Star rapped on Jinx's door sharply three times, then opened it, "Friend Jinx! It is time to wake up and face this glorious day!" she flew into the room and threw back the bed clothes.

The bed was empty.

Star frowned and pulled out her T-Comp. A quick location check latter and she determined that Jinx was still in the tower, if she had her T-Comp with her. A thought came to her then, and she grinned.

Flying at almost top speed to Beast Boy's room, she opened the door a crack and peeked in. Jumping back and shutting the door quickly, she blushed. So _that_ was where Jinx was.

"Whatch'ya doin'?" Star flew up and hit the ceiling as Cyborg spoke from where he'd snuck up behind her.

"Cyborg! You frightened me!" Star held a hand to her chest as she floated back down, "I am simply rousing people from their beds! Raven wanted me to make sure everyone was ready to train by 11:30."

"Beast Boy not awake yet? Don't worry, I'll get him up..." and he started for the door. Starfire quickly interposed herself between her friend and his destination.

"I do not think that would be... wise."

"Oh? Why not?" Cyborg arched his eyebrow.

".... Beast Boy is not alone." she grinned.

Cyborg's eyebrow shot up now, "Really?" he thought for a second, "Jinx?"

"Yes. I do not know if they 'did anything' last night, but she spent the night in his room."

"Well, we'll just let them snooze until Raven goes to wake them up then." Cyborg grinned, "No THAT should be entertaining."

"I do not know...."

"Come on, Star! I'll make you some waffles." Cyborg motioned for her to follow him. At the mention of waffles, Starfire promptly forgot what they had just been talking about and followed him with a squeal of joy.

* * *

Raven was not, as Starfire had assumed, sleeping. She was floating in the center of her room, legs crossed in the lotus position, hands held to her sides, muttering words in a language not known to Earth. 

Deep inside her mind, Raven flew towards her destination at top speed. She knew she was taking a risk coming here, but she needed to see what kind of damage she had to repair before she tried to repair it. She wanted to be ready when the time came to face her Father once again.

Flying up over a rise in the rocky terrain of Azarath, she descended into a large crater, in the center of which sat a cage. As she landed, she looked about in confusion.

"Come to see me after having me cooped up for so long? Do you finally have need of me, Little Raven?" the speaker was the Seed, locked in the cage. The Seed looked exactly like she herself did, only her clothing was red, and four sinister eyes shown from within the shadows of her cowl.

"I let you out just the other night as I recall." Raven replied with an arched eyebrow.

"Let me out? No, your cage fell. It was that foolish green boy-"

"He has a name."

"_Beast Boy_," the Seed sneered the name out, "kissed you and someone came to take me away. Someone new."

"Who?"

"I do not know." the Seed turned it's head away and sat down, almost as if it was pouting.

Raven sighed. The Seed was her Father's essence, trapped inside of her, waiting for the day when it could break free of it's bonds and take over her mind permanently. It represented all of her anger and rage, blindly destroying everything in it's path if it felt the need to. It didn't understand the other aspects of her personality, the other Ravens that inhabited this world inside her mind. _They_ worked together to make her who she was. This aspect simply tried to destroy them, and assert it's control.

"So if you're still safely under lock and key, then who's creating all of the disturbances in my power flow?"

"The other. The new one. I cannot place her... she is..." the Seed trailed off, "I don't know."

"I don't have time to find her now... I'll have to come back latter." Raven walked a full two circles around the cage, making sure it was still secure. She always did after talking to the Seed, just to be sure.

"You keep me locked up, but don't lock up the one that commands me. How you must hate me."

"I'm not capable of hate without you, so you would know." Raven narrowed her eyes at the Seed, "Who commands you? You don't take orders from any of the other aspects."

"The green one that dwells inside of you is powerful. She lets me out when you use her." the Seed grinned, "I take her orders only to use my power. Someday, Raven, you and I will be one, and then... what fun we will have."

"If I could destroy you, I would." Raven shook her head. The green one? Bravery manifested in green.... why would Bravery let the Seed out? Shaking her head, Raven flew up into the air, and back towards the horizon. As she neared the inky black beyond, she felt herself slipping out of her trance, and back into the material world.

Raven floated to the ground of her room, and opened her eyes. Standing, she shook her head again. She still had more questions then answers. Growling in frustration at her drastically unproductive meditation, she jerked out her T-Comp and checked the time. 10:46.

"Well, it never hurts to get started early." Raven tucked her communicator away as she stalked to the door and let it slide open for her. Star would already be awake, and she would have woken Cyborg by now. Beast Boy would still be slumbering though, and he was notorious for being hard to wake up. Usually only Cy could do it, but Raven was feeling confident in her abilities to wake him this morning.

* * *

"Mmm!" Starfire took another huge bite of her breakfast as Cyborg continued to mix up more batter, "Waffles!" she giggled with her mouth full, spraying the table with syrup and crumbs.

* * *

Stopping at the Beast Boy's door, Raven noted his presence inside the room. She also noticed that he wasn't alone. With a half grin, she pushed the button that opened the doors and took a step in. 

Beast Boy's bed was a tangle of sheets and blankets, with a large lump under them. Sticking out of the sheets at the foot of the bed were two pairs of feet. The green feet were spread apart, toes pointing up at the ceiling. The other two feet were small and pale, toes pointing down, and resting in-between the green feet.

Raven floated up and hovered over the bed to get a better look. Jinx was laying on Beast Boy's chest, her hands curled up under his shoulders, gripping him like a pillow. Beast Boy was laid flat out, his mouth lolling open and a thin line of drool dripping down one cheek.

Too easy...

Raven reached out for the sheets with her power, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted as the sheets flew off the two young super hero's below her and across the room. At the same time, the whole mattress rose up off the bed, then crashed back down, bouncing them off to either side of it.

Jinx was the first one up, her hand hauled back with a crackling ball of pink energy waiting to be hurled at the nearest target. Beast Boy was up a second latter, ready to change into whatever animal he needed to fend off the attacker.

What they saw was Raven, rolling around in mid-air, laughing. Tears were starting to stream down her cheeks as she pounded the air like it was the ground and floated slowly towards the door.

She managed to speak a few words just before she floated into the hall way, "That... was.... (giggle) HILARIOUS! You two... and the flopping.... hitting the floor... should have seen... the looks... (snort) on your..." she trailed off into another fit of laughter as the doors shut behind her.

Jinx and Beast Boy looked at each other for the first time since waking up and both let out strangled noises of shock.

Beast Boy wore only his blue and white stripped boxers, and Jinx was down to the tight black top she wore as part of her new uniform, and a thong.

They stood and admired each other for a moment. Although he was still young and a little on the skinny side, Beast Boy's constant training and fighting kept him in shape. Muscle well hidden by his uniform stood out in high definition all over his body. Jinx had long shapely legs, and what she lacked in the breast department, she made up for with J-Loesque booty. Her pink hair, when it was pulled down as it was now, fell in loose ringlets just past her shoulders.

After a moment, they both realized they were staring, and dove for their clothes, which were piled neatly on either side of the bed. A hasty session of yanking on clothing and straightening hair ensued, followed by a bout of silent staring.

Jinx broke the silence, "I uh... don't think we did anything last night. Did we?"

"I don't think so... just a little pillow fight, followed by a little making out... don't quite remember the whole taking off my clothes part though."

"You were a little punch drunk. I slammed you into the floor pretty hard."

"Oh. That explains the head ache then. Thanks, by the way." Beast Boy grinned.

"Oh no... Raven was right, you're a great kisser. I'd give you an eight point five though. Definitely one of the top five boys I've made out with."

"Well, you know... animal instincts and all..." Beast Boy trailed off and they stared at each other for another moment, "Do you want to pretend this never happened too?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." Jinx nodded emphatically.

"Yeah, I mean... it was great and all, but... we shouldn't just jump right into a relationship like this... I mean, we've only been friends for what, a day?"

"Definitely. We should get to know each other better first..." Jinx nodded, then arched an eyebrow, "Can we still make out when we're feeling lonely?"

Beast Boy looked relived that she had suggested it first, "Yeah, that'd be great. Friends with benefits then?"

"Friends with benefits." Jinx nodded with a smile and stuck out her hand. Beast Boy leaned in a shook it.

"We should get cleaned up and see why Raven woke us up." the changeling rubbed the back of his head, "I don't mean to kick you out or anything, but..."

"It's okay." Jinx grinned, "I'll get to go take a shower in my own room for the first time!" she bounced over to the door, stopped, ran back to Beast Boy, and kissed him soundly. After she pulled away, she grinned at him, "I'll see you at breakfast, BB." and she ran out the door.

Beast Boy stood in a daze for a moment, then staggered into his bathroom for a cold shower.

* * *

As soon as the doors to the rec-room opened and Jinx stepped off the elevator, she wished she'd spent that extra five minutes in the shower. It wouldn't have been hard at all, considering the Tower seemed to have an endless supply of hot water, and the shampoo Raven had furnished her with was heavenly (who knew Raven pampered herself with such expensive shampoo?) it really would have been an extremely enjoyable five minutes. 

What she got instead was a loud argument, currently reaching it's zenith in volume, as Beast Boy yelled at Raven for invading his privacy, and Raven muttered quiet calm answers in return.

"You always forbid anyone from going in your room, but you invade ours all the time! Why is THAT, huh Raven?"

"You never told me not to, and you've never minded before now. Just because you were shacking up with Jinx-"

"We were NOT shacking up." Jinx called firmly from across the room, "It was more like... um...."

"Shacking up?" Raven supplied, quite unhelpfully.

"No! Like... going too fast, too soon. Wont happen again." she shrugged, "We've decided to cool off until we get to know each other better." Jinx walked over and stood next to Beast Boy, "So lay off, kay?"

"Whatever. Training room in ten." Raven turned her glare around the room to where Cyborg and Starfire were still stuffing themselves with waffles, "Everyone." and she stalked off.

"Dude, she got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Beast Boy shook his head and went to grab a bagel.

"Raven's bed is pushed against a wall," Starfire pointed out, "She would get up on the same side every morning."

"Exactly." Beast Boy nodded.

"Harsh, man." Cyborg got up to start clearing the dishes, "You heard the lady though, training room in ten. See ya'll there." and he too walked off.

"I wonder if this is for my benefit." Jinx said as she dug through the fridge for something to drink.

"Raven wishes to help you become aquatinted with how we deal with combat situations." Star replied as she floated over to the sink, a large stack of plates in her hands, "We fight differently then the HIVE teaches."

"Not really." Jinx shrugged, "You guys just don't train to kill."

Star paused before she set the plates down, and Beast Boy winced, "Uh, Jinx? Could you NOT talk about killing people like it's something you do every day?"

"Sorry..." Jinx mummbled as she pulled the orange juice out of the fridge, "Just stating a fact..."

"You will learn how to subdue your opponents when fighting with us," Starfire smiled at the pink haired girl as she turned around from the sink, "and all of your old training will slip away as if it did not matter."

"I doubt that." Jinx frowned, "I was trained to be a killer, Star. It'll take more then a few training sessions with Raven to unlearn that."

"I think you will find," Star smiled knowingly, "that Raven can be a _very_ convincing teacher when she has to be."

As Starfire floated off to the elevator, Jinx looked over at Beast Boy, "I'm not going to like this one bit, am I?"

"Only if you like getting your ass kicked." Beast Boy shook his head sympathetically.

* * *

"Alright," Raven, hood drawn up, stalked back and forth before the assembled Titans like they were first day boot camp trainees, "we have a lot of ground to cover and only half a day to do it in." 

"Why only half a day?" Beast Boy asked, still a little miffed at her.

Raven stopped and glared at him, her eyes burning white from within her cowl, "Because I'm putting us back on full patrol today. We start at 5:00pm, and patrol until 11:30. After that, we remain on Code Yellow for the rest of the night, through the next day when we go out on patrol again."

"Didn't Robin just cut back the patrols?" Cyborg asked, arching his eyebrow.

"Yes, but Robin isn't here is he?" Raven narrowed her eyes, "I'll be damned if anything happens to this town while he's left me in charge. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to disappoint him when he gets back. He'll have had a hard enough time in Gotham without coming home to a city in ruins because we weren't able to act fast enough, because we were slacking off on our jobs." she turned her back to them and continued, "Jinx will be with me tonight in City Section Five. While we're downtown, I want the rest of you to split up and cover the rest of the city."

Starfire spoke up, "Why will you be limiting yourself to just one Section? It seems odd that two of you should patrol such a small area, while the rest of us must cover the whole city."

"I'll be taking charge of Jinx personally." Raven turned back to her team and gave Jinx a slight smile, "I'm going to make sure you make it past Robin's probationary period."

"What are we waiting for then?" Jinx grinned, "Why don't you guys show me how a Titan fights?"

"Cy, set up simulation forty seven." Raven's eyes flashed brightly under her hood and her smile grew, "I think it's time Jinx found out how it is to fight herself."

* * *

Robin tore down the streets of Gotham City on the Batcycle, fully tuned up and still in perfect working order, even if Batman hardly ever used it. He had a killer car after all, and it was fully armor plated. Just one of the many differences in style the Dark Knight and his protégé had; Batman rode in calm and collected while Robin himself hurled headlong into danger with a snarl on his lips. 

He'd been tracking down a lead for most of the day, starting by locating a few people with the Batcave computers, then interrogating them until he got the information he needed. A lot of the baddies in Gotham were connected in some way, so it was just a matter of leg work to find out where one particular was. It was a series of stepping stones that would lead him to Harley Quinn, and from her to the Joker.

Robin's hand tightened on the throttle just thinking about the clown faced madman.

The last stepping stone before he got to Harley was an old friend of hers. It had taken him the better part of the day to find her, but he knew he was lucky it had taken just a single day. Pamela Isley wasn't an easy woman to find.

After a few hours of searching had turned up no leads on Harley herself at all, Robin had switched gears. He knew the Joker's girl was tight with Poison Ivy, so he was hoping that the deranged eco-terrorist would have a rough idea where he could find her. Ivy turned out to be much easier to track down then Harley.

As he pulled up outside of a nondescript white building, Robin punched a button on his helmet, turning on the communicator that would call Batman for him. It was past five in the afternoon, so he was hoping Bruce was home from work already.

"Go ahead Robin." came the no-nonsense voice of his benefactor through the link.

"I'm sitting outside of Poison Ivy's hideout right now. I'm going to see if she knows where we can find the elusive Miss Quinn."

"Go ahead, but be careful. Ivy hasn't acted up at all in the past six months, and she might have a nasty surprise or two waiting for you."

"Your concern is touching, but I think I'll manage." Robin was slightly annoyed that he was being treated like an amateur.

"Just don't get in too deep." Bruce sounded tiered. He probably wasn't sleeping well, "I don't need to have another side kick in the hospital."

"I haven't been a side kick for a while now." Robin replied firmly.

Bruce's sigh over the com link sounded half exasperated and half exhausted, "I'll be on the street in under an hour. Don't get too far ahead of me."

"Right. Robin out." and he shut off the link before he could be scolded for being so abrupt. Bruce had no right to treat him like a child any more. Not after he'd been doing so well on his own for so long.

Hopping off the bike and setting his helmet down on the back of it, he walked quickly across the street and to the door of the building. He pulled a lock picking kit out of his belt, but stopped before he let himself in. Grinning, he decided to make this a friendly visit.

He rang the doorbell.

After a few minutes, he heard latches being undone and locks being opened, and the door cracked open just enough for whoever was behind it to see out, "Who's there?" came a female voice.

"Just us birds, Ivy." Robin replied as he kicked the door in, knocking her to the floor in the process. She was wearing a black skirt, blue shirt and a lab coat over it. Glasses askew, she looked up at him from the floor.

"Nice to see you too after so long." she stood and straightened her clothing, "It's been what? Two years? This town was getting downright _pleasant _without three of you caped creeps running around."

"Yeah, well, no need to worry about that anymore, right?" Robin took a threatening step forward.

"Guess not. I heard the Joker did poor Batgirl a good one. Bullet in the gut." she frowned, "You know I hate that bastard, Boy Wonder. I don't know where he is."

"But you know someone who might." Robin raised a hand to grab her but she took a step back and shook her head.

"Why don't you come in and have some tea with me? I'm not in the mood to fight with you today. Especially now that I see how much you've grown. Not fifteen anymore are you?"

"Almost eighteen." he mumbled, "And I'll pass on the tea. Knowing you, it'll be poisoned."

"Well, it would have been if you actually took it. Suit yourself though, you know it doesn't hurt me any."

She led him down the hall way they stood in and into a large room full of plants. The ground was grassy, and the dull Gotham sun shown in through greenhouse windows above, from behind the clouds that hung in a perpetual haze around the city. Robin poked at a fern, "What's this one for?"

Poison Ivy was getting some iced tea from a pitcher set on a table at the side of the room. She glanced over and saw which plant he was referring to, "That one secrets a powerful neurotoxin that can paralyze an elephant with just a few drops. It'd probably kill a human."

"Not illegal at all I suppose?"

"I wouldn't know, I just made it a few weeks ago."

Robin stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest, "Let's just cut the chit chat okay? Do you have any ideas on where I can find Harley Quinn?"

"Harley? I haven't seen her since she got back together with that idiot clown she's so fond of."

"Bullshit." Robin said it as if it were a fact.

"Naughty words, Little Robin."

"I'm almost a foot taller then you, Ivy. You can't call me little anymore."

She sighed, "I guess not. You're really starting to make me feel my age, you know that? I remember when you were what? Twelve?"

"Something like that. Stop trying to change the subject."

"Harley decided to take a break from the Joker for a few months. He was busy with this new scheme to take down the Batman and he didn't really need her around for it. She's been hanging out around the pool halls down on the South side."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her, "That was a little too easy."

She shrugged, "You wanted to know. Besides, you wont hurt her, just her stupid boyfriend. Maybe she'll see the error of her ways when he's sent packing to Arkham again."

"If this turns out to be a false lead, Ivy, I _will_ find you." Robin sneered at her. She snorted into her tea and turned away from him to inspect a flower.

"I'm not scared of you, Boy Wonder. You're just a pest. A shadow of your mentor." she turned back to give him a saucy grin, but stopped short.

Looking around in confusion, she tried to figure out what had just happened.

Robin had vanished.

* * *

Raven sighed and pushed her hood back from her face. Rubbing her eyes, she muttered out of the corner of her mouth at Cyborg, "Set it up again." 

"Sure thing." Cyborg looked a little strung out as well.

Raven stood up from behind the control panel and looked down into the training room where Jinx was arguing with Starfire and Beast Boy. Finally, Beast Boy threw up his hands and turned to look up at her, pulling out his T-Comp as he did.

Flipping open the communication device, he spoke into it, "We've been at it for three hours Rae, how about a break?"

"Not until she gets it right." Raven responded.

Jinx leaned over Beast Boy's shoulder and spoke up to her, "I'm sorry Raven, but it's just.... instinct. You know?"

"It's a habit. Habits can be broken." Raven frowned down at her, "Try harder Jinx."

"Right..." Jinx sighed, "one more time..." and Beast Boy snapped his T-Comp shut.

Raven fell back into her chair next to Cyborg and massaged her temples.

Cyborg hit a few more buttons as he spoke, "Seventeen times, Raven. Seventeen! Most people when confronted by themselves in combat simulations hold back, or find a gentle way to subdue the doppelganger." he glanced at her sidelong, "What has Jinx done every time?"

"Killed herself. Every time." Raven buried her face in her hands.

"Right. Killed herself. The girl has no mercy, no remorse, and no sense of compassion." he shook his head, "I hate to say it Rae, but maybe we were wrong about her. Her heart's in the right place, but let's face it... she was trained to kill and destroy. It's all she knows how to do."

"We try it once more." Raven sat up and looked down at her friends as they prepared for another round of combat, "After this, if she kills herself again, I'll just have to start over. Train her from the ground up."

"Robin would be better at that."

"Robin's not here."

"Right, right." Cyborg hit the last few buttons, "We're set."

"Hit it." Raven nodded, and Cyborg started the simulation.

The Titans used a state of the art training chamber that employed hard light constructs to create a realistic fighting environment. Any situation they wanted could be constructed, and the difficultly levels adjusted depending on how hard they wanted to work out. Most often it was used for combat training, but it could easily be used for a sunny picnic when it was raining outside of the Tower.

The simulation Cyborg was running for Jinx was a recreation of an encounter they'd had with her, Mammoth and Gizmo in the middle of a city street. Starfire and Beast Boy were fighting as themselves, and Jinx was taking Robin's place in the combat.

So far she had performed well up until the part where her other self would start throwing waves of pink energy everywhere, not caring who she hit or what damage she caused. At that point, the real Jinx would dive in and engage her doppelganger in hand to hand combat, and at some point during the fight, would exploit an opening a little to vigorously.

Twice she had crushed the constructs throat. Four times she'd broken it's neck. Once she'd even smashed it's head into the pavement hard enough to crush it's hard light skull. She was brutal, efficient, and deadly. Everything one could want in an assassin, but not very desirable traits in a super hero.

Raven watched intently as Jinx flew into action this time. The first part of the simulation played out perfectly, with Jinx engaging herself in a series of flipping acrobatics, whipping strong punches and kicks as she flew through the air. She matched her doppelgangers fighting style so perfectly that Raven really had to be impressed by Cyborg's ability to write such life like moves into his program.

Beast Boy and Starfire dispatched their own opponents quickly enough, having done nothing but find the quickest, easiest way to do so for the past three hours. They stood back and watched as Jinx fought herself down.

Eventually, the construct started to throw waves of pink energy randomly, blowing up cars and caving in the street. Building walls collapsed, making Jinx dodge the falling bricks as best she could. Hard light constructs weren't real matter, but they hurt just as much when they hit you.

Jinx cart wheeled in to close enough range of her counterpart and began to throw close quarter punches and low kicks. Raven sat up and took notice as the pink haired girl fought. Something was different this time.

"She's... not holding back, but... still... it's like she's fighting to wear her opponent down rather than beat it up." Raven narrowed her eyes and shot Cyborg a sidelong glance, "Give her an opening."

"What?" Cyborg looked like he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard.

"I said give her an opening. See if she takes the bait."

"We're playing with fire here Raven." Cyborg started entering the command anyway, "Do you want her to fail?"

"I don't think she will." Raven turned back to the battle in time to see Jinx take a strong left to the gut, forcing her to back off of the construct slightly. It waded in at her and threw another punch, right handed this time, but it was sloppy and over extended.

Jinx obviously saw the opening, because she went for it immediately. This time however, instead of crushing her enemies ribs like she had before, she aimed a perfect punch into it's gut, knocking the wind out of the construct and dropping it to it's knees. A follow up kick sent it skidding across the street and into a parked car.

She followed her melee attack with a wave of pink energy, kicking the street up around the construct, and restraining it in a small wave of concrete. Nodding at her handiwork, she turned and threw Raven a saucy grin, flashing a 'V' for victory sign with her fingers.

Even though she couldn't hear what was being said inside the chamber, Raven could tell that Beast Boy and Starfire were congratulating their friend on a job well done. She sat back in her chair and let out a sigh.

"She's learning." Cyborg said with a nod and a smile, "You still want to take her out on patrol tonight?"

"Yes. Field experience is vital in this job, and as long as it's quiet, we might as well get some easy work in while we can."

"I hear that. I've been itching to hit the streets again actually. I mean, I really like going out with Sarah and all, but sometimes, you just need to find some criminals and give them the beating they deserve." Cy winked at Raven, who rolled her eyes and crossed her legs, letting one foot bounce.

"How'd that go last night anyway?" she asked as she closed her eyes and sat back.

"Great. We talked it out, decided to keep seeing each other, made out, had a good time.... the works."

"Any talks about getting really serious?"

"You mean marriage? Yeah, a little. Just thinking that we might do it some day, just not right now. Maybe after she gets her degree."

"Sometimes..." Raven stopped bouncing her foot, "Sometimes, I wish I could have a relationship like that."

Cy looked at her sideways, "You said yourself you can't let your emotions get out of control like that. Even when you get really happy you start to blow stuff up."

"I know... I would need to find someone who can understand that I love them... without me constantly telling them."

"Someone like Robin?" Cyborg turned to her and arched his eyebrow.

Raven opened her eyes, stood up and glared at him for a moment, "Yes. Someone exactly like Robin. NOT Robin himself. Someone like him."

"Right." Cyborg grinned, "Someone like him. You might want to have this talk with Star..."

Raven pulled her hood up and her eyes burned white from within it's depths, "You're out of line, Cyborg."

He held up his hands defensively, "I'm just making fun, Rae... chill."

"Go fuck yourself, Cy." and she swept out of the control room, the glass that separated it from the training area cracking as she did.

Cyborg stared down at the ground for a moment before Beast Boy walked in, followed by Jinx, "Dude... what's up with Raven?" Beast Boy sounded miffed, "We tried to talk to her in the hall but she total ignored us."

"So?" Cyborg stood up as well, an angry look on his face, "What else is new?" and he too stalked out of the control room.

"Dude...." Beast Boy shook his head, "What is _with_ everybody today?"

Jinx shook her head, "They obviously had a fight."

"They fight all the time. We all do."

"Not like this apparently."

"I guess.... hey, you want to see that fire monster fight I was telling you about?"

Jinx looked over her shoulder at the door, the way Raven and Cyborg had just left. Shaking her head, she turned back to Beast Boy, "Yeah, sure!"

* * *

Robin sat on the roof of a small auto repair shop across the street from the pool hall Harley had been frequenting for the past week or so. A little digging had turned up a few sightings of a girl matching her description, so he figured she was most likely to be at this pool hall again if she came back. He just hoped she wasn't lying low until the heat on the Joker blew over. 

His eyes narrowed as he watched the door of the bar. She'd be waiting a long time.

A sound behind him caught his attention as he watched. Reaching down and pulling a bird-a-rang out, he raised it and prepared to throw as he spun around.

Robin found his wrist firmly in the grip of a black gloved hand, and two white eyes staring at him from behind a black mask.

"You made a noise." he smirked at Batman, "Losing your touch, old man?"

"I can still write you out of the will, you know." Batman stood and lifted him off the ground by his wrist, "Little Robin."

Robin was shocked at first. He'd forgotten how strong Bruce was for a human. His grin softened into a smile as he nodded his head at his old partner.

"It feels good." he said.

"What does?" Batman asked as he returned Robin to the ground.

"Being back." Batman smiled at that, "Sitting up here with you on a stake-out... bantering back and forth... just like the old days."

"Only you're a half foot taller." Batman settled down next to the younger man and sighed, "You do make me feel old sometimes."

"Poison Ivy said the same thing earlier."

"She's almost as old as I am." Batman looked up at the stars, "Any action yet down there?"

"No. It's getting late too. I think this might be a bust for tonight."

"There's always tomorrow."

"I guess I'm getting impatient."

"I warned you about that. Young guys like you have tempers and fierce devotion to what they do. I know, I was your age once." Bruce frowned down at the young man sitting next to him, "You can't let those feelings rule you. You have to keep your emotions in check."

"You sound like Raven." Robin smiled.

"Another of your team I suppose?"

Robin nodded, "Yeah, she has to keep her powers in check or bad things happen."

"I see." Batman settled back and pulled out a can of soup, "Cold tonight..." he muttered as he took a sip. He stared down at it for a moment before speaking again, "Robin, I've been meaning to ask you something since you got back."

"Yeah?" Robin was watching the door again.

"With Babs out of action now, permanently... well, I find myself short a partner."

Robin froze, not looking away from the door, but his mind still buzzing away at a million miles a second. Was Batman asking him to....

"I could use you back here, Dick." Batman looked up at him, "If you want, I'd be happy to have Robin back in Gotham."

Robin's mind processed the request slowly. Eventually he looked back at Batman and stuttered out a response, "I... the Titans... and Kori and I just... I guess..." he composed himself and let out a sigh, "I'd love to, Batman. I really would, but... the Titans need me." his eyes softened, "And I love Kori. I want to stay with her."

Batman leaned back and closed his eyes, "Guess I'm on the market for a new partner then."

"You used to do it by yourself."

"I was younger then."

"Don't give me that bullshit. You're still in perfect condition."

Batman gave him a sidelong glance, "Did you learn to talk like that over in California?"

"No," Robin sneered at his friend and mentor, "I learned to swear from you. I just perfected it by watching TV."

Batman wisely switched back to their first subject, "I still need a partner."

"I could try to get someone." Robin offered, "The Titans aren't limited to just the five of us in Jump City you know. There's the guys up in Titans East, and we have a few independents out there still-"

"I think I'll find this one on my own." Batman replied firmly, "I don't need a young hotheaded kid to come in here, trying to do things their own way. We play by _my_ rules in this city, remember?"

"I remember. Though I was a pretty hot headed guy when I first started. I had to learn, just like Babs had to learn."

"Yeah... but you two learned really well." Batman gave him a rare smile, a genuine, not cocky, fatherly smile, "You really did."

"Thanks." Robin smiled back.

"Go on back to the manner now." Batman waved him off, "I'll keep an eye out here for another hour or two, then head back in as well." Robin started to protest, but Batman cut him off, "I want you to get some rest, Robin. Go see Babs tomorrow for a little while. She could wake up any day now, and I want one of us to be there for her when she does."

"Okay." Robin sighed. Bruce was always right.

"I'll see you in the morning, Dick."

"Yeah. See you then." with a last, parting smile, Robin ran and jumped off the back of the building.

Starfire watched the setting sun from the rec-room in Titans tower from where she sat with the reheated plate of breakfast food in front of her. Her eyes gleamed with sheer joy as she stuffed her face with syrup covered delight.

* * *

"Mmmm!" she squealed loudly, even though no one was around, "Waffles!"

* * *

Closing notes: Waffles are the most wonderful food known to mankind. Everyone thinks so. Just say the name enough and you'll want some. I promise. 

Responses!

Don't Blink- This wont be the last time I say this, but this IS a Rob/Star fic. I like these kids too much to screw with 'em THAT bad. Just going to have to trust me here.

chickiidoo- Yes. Waffles.

Bonekhan- May I recomend a thesaurus? :)

StarryRavenFire- This is a story about everyone. :) No secrets given away just yet. You'll just have to keep reading to see who ends up in the sack with who.

Hiya- Scroll down and read the next chapter preview please. (Damn, that's the sadist in me acting up again.... :)

oBsEsSiVe AnD hYpEr- Glad I can keep you so rivited to the screen. You know, they make pills for obsessive and hyper people. I know, I used to take some. :)

Heaven's Angel- Another reviewer that's been with me for awhile now. I've got big plans in store for the Titans. Hope you like what I do... it'll be to die for, I promise.

youdon'tknowmyname- I know, I know... spelling has never been my strong suit... I'll keep screwing it up too, I know I will. I just don't pick up on those things like some people do. All I see is the story I'm writing, not the words that make it, you know? Maybe I'll go back an edit them some day, but for now... hell, let's just get the damn thing up as fast as I can, right?

Stolen Valkyrie- I'm trying to show how all the Titans are together and apart. I'll be highlighting more of their interactions in the coming chapters, so keep a sharp eye out for the Raven/Starfire chat, the Cyborg/Jinx talk, the Beast Boy/ Raven heart to heart, and the Cyborg/Starfire argument. Should be.... fun. :)

Albelthenox- Another that tells me I'm the best. I'm gonna get a big head here pretty quick.... :)

robinstar- I know you're a big Rob/Star shipper, so the next chapter will have you cheering. :)

Greg867- Beast Boy IS horny too. And Raven IS horny all the time... you'd think it'd just be natural right? Heh. I'm not that nice. :) By the way, fact of the day: Candy? Based on a real chick I know. No shit dude, she'll take off her gear and get down with any famous guy she meets. She's fucked like, six celebs or something like that.

Keep up the good reviews! I know there'll be some talk generated by this chapter, so go ahead and spit it out! Hit that review button!

* * *

Next chapter- Jinx talks things out with Cyborg, Starfire and Raven have a little girl talk, Batgirl rejoins the world of the living, Robin plays best friend and ends up even MORE confused, Raven get's midevil on someone's ass, and Beast Boy can't seem to keep his big mouth shut. 


	3. Chapter 3

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fanfiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: I was thinking about adding more to this chapter, but as it broke the 8,000 word mark, I decided to cut it off. It's one of the longest in either Sonata or Cantata, so get ready for a good 30-45 minutes of reading. A full hour if you read slower. This one really moves though, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Over the course of writing this chapter, I discovered two things: 1.) I know way too much about sex toys. 2.) I'm the most evil bastard I know. Here's why.

I know I mentioned way back in like, chapter 2 or 3 of sonata that I wouldn't put rape in a story, but I need a really horrible crime to put in this one. That's the worst shit I can think of. So I put it in. No detail at all, it's not any of the main cast, and the bad, bad man gets what's coming to him, so don't worry overmuch. I apologize up, down, left, right and the other way, but I felt it was the best path to go with.

On the upside, you Starfire/Robin shippers get your heads screwed with some more in this chapter, but at least I throw you a light at the end of the tunnle. Read on, and I'll see you at the closing notes.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans. Sorry.

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Cyborg jumped the stack of crates that separated him from the man he was chasing. He landed hard, shattering pavement and sending chunks of it flying in all directions. A green leopard jumped up on top of the stack of crates behind him and transformed into Beast Boy a moment later.

"You might want to stop running now dude!" the green changeling called out, "Cy's in a bad mood tonight!"

"Shut it, BB." Cyborg yelled as he took off again. He raised his arm to his mouth and shouted into it, "Star! Where is he?"

Far above her friends, Starfire watched the maze like warehouses of the East Side from the air, keeping track of their quarry, and directing the other two Titans through the mess of buildings.

"Turn right here Cyborg. Right!" she watched as Cy did a quick directional change and ran the right way. She looked up ahead of him and saw the man they were chasing. He was tall and thin, balding on top, and he wore loose clothing perfect for hiding things in.

He was a shoplifter.

Sighing, Star flew a little faster to keep up. Was this what the Teen Titans had been reduced to? Chasing down shoplifters?

"He's in your sights now, Cyborg." she said into her T-Comp.

"I got him!" Cy finally caught up to the guy and poked him in the back, sending him sprawling. As the half robot put cuffs on the shoplifter, Beast Boy walked over and made sure he was alright. He looked up at the sky,

"He's okay, Star. Call it in to the cops."

"Right away, Beast Boy."

Fifteen minutes latter, they were walking down a more populated street in the city, closer to the commercial district. Beast Boy stretched and yawned, then turned to walk backwards as he spoke to his friends, "Hey, you guys wanna' stop and get a pizza or two? I'm starved, and Cy's already had his run for the night."

"Should we not be patrolling?" Star asked.

"Naw." Cyborg shrugged, "Nothing's happening tonight. Let's get a pie. I see a place just up there." he pointed up the street to a pizzeria that still had it's neon open sign on in the window.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy dashed up the street, leaving his two friends behind.

"I guess taking just a short break would not be too bad..." Star looked worried.

"We'll make one more good round after we eat." Cyborg said as he threw an arm around her shoulders, "Then we'll head home for some z's."

"That will be acceptable." Starfire smiled, "May we get a pizza with waffles on it?"

Cyborg's eye twitched.

* * *

"So this is patrol huh?" Jinx asked as she peered in the window of a shop. The dress inside looked sinfully designed, "Seems a lot like window shopping to me."

"There's not much going on." Raven shrugged, "I was hoping for a mugging or a small robbery... you know, start you off small before a super villain comes through."

"I guess so. Hey, how do you think Robin is doing?" Jinx looked at Raven quizzically.

"Don't know." Raven pulled out her T-Comp and checked the time. She flipped it open and hit a few buttons, "Raven to Robin. You there Boy Wonder?"

There was a several second pause, then Robin's voice crackled through the T-Comp, "I'm here Raven. What's up?"

"Just calling to see how you're doing. Nothing to report from the past few nights patrols." Raven arched an eyebrow at him, "You're not wearing a shirt."

"Oh!" Jinx jumped behind the psion and looked over her shoulder, "Lemme see!"

Robin, standing in view of his T-Comp wearing just the bottom half of his uniform and no mask, looked annoyed, "Come on Raven."

"Sorry. Hey, how's Barbara?"

Robin's face fell and he heaved a sigh, "Comatose right now. The wound was easy enough for them to patch up, but..." he trailed off and Raven tried to get a fix on his emotions. He was greatly upset about something, "She... the bullet hit her spine. Went right through I guess.... she'll never walk again."

Raven shut her eyes and she felt Jinx's hand tightened on her shoulder, "I'm sorry to hear that Robin." she said in a monotone.

"Yeah... well... on the upside, I'm just a few steps away from tracking down the Joker. We'll have the sick bastard soon." Robin slammed his fist into his palm and scowled.

"Just remember who you are, Robin." Raven opened her eyes and stared at him.

"Who would that be?"

"You're a hero." Raven narrowed her eyes, "When you catch up with the Joker, act like one."

"I think you're getting too used to giving orders." Robin cracked a smile, "I'll have to get home as soon as I can."

"She's a slave driver Robin!" Jinx called over Raven's shoulder before going back to her window shopping. 

"Be careful out there Robin." Raven said to him, and he nodded.

"You guys too. No telling when something might go down, so stay on your toes."

"We will. Raven out."

"Later." and Robin signed off.

"Jinx!" Raven called as she stalked over to where her friend was drooling over an over priced pair of boots, "Pack it in."

"Already? It's only half past eleven!"

"Nothing is going to happen tonight. Let's just head home."

"Alright. When ever you're ready."

Raven grabber her arm and they vanished in a swirl of darkness.

* * *

When Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire arrived back at the Tower, they found Jinx in the living room, sitting upside down on the couch, her hair spilling over the edge towards the floor. She was playing the Gamestation, her mouth hanging open, and her eyes slightly glazed.

The other three Titans stared at her for a moment, then Star asked, "Where is Raven, Friend Jinx?"

"Hmm?" Jinx's eyes focused a bit more, "She went to her room. Said she had 'stuff' to work out."

"And what are you doing?" Star cocked her head to the side.

"Playin' Gamestation..."

"We see that," Cyborg arched an eyebrow, "but why are you playing it upside down?"

"It's too easy right side up."

Beast Boy yawned hugely, "I'm in for the night gang. See everyone in the morning." he gave a fake cheer, "Training! Bright and early..." he started for the elevator and Star flew after him quickly.

"I too, will be going up for bed." she smiled back at Cyborg and Jinx, "Perhaps you two can engage in the kicking of each other's butts?"

"That sounds pretty decent actually." Cyborg walked over to the sofa, "I need to find out just how good my new challenger is..."

"I'm gonna' school you, Tin Man."

"Only if your LUCK holds, Witch."

Jinx snorted as she sat up straight and threw him a 'whatever' look.

Star giggled as the doors slid shut.

* * *

Raven punched her pillow as she opened her eyes. Cyborg had pissed her off royally earlier, and it was affecting her meditations. She couldn't even get deep enough to enter her mind. She going to have to use the mirror if she couldn't get past her annoyance with her friend.

Sighing, she stood to change for bed. No use sitting around in uniform all night if she was going to try to calm herself. She needed to be comfortable.

Changing into her usual sleeping clothes (a white tank top and a thong) she climbed back on her bed and assumed the lotus position. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind, and was just about to start her chanting when a knock sounded at her door.

Her eyes popped open and she growled out loudly enough to be heard beyond the door, "Who is it?"

"It is Starfire." came the reply.

Raven sighed again, "It's open Star."

The doors slid open and Starfire walked in, stopping just beyond them and letting them shut behind her. She wore black silk pajama pants, and a pink tank top that read 'Cuter Than You.' A gift from Beast Boy, no doubt.

"What can I do for you Star?" Raven asked.

Star was hesitant at first, then seemed to gain confidence, "What is it that Cyborg and yourself are fighting over?"

Raven winced. She had been hoping to avoid this conversation indefinitely, "Nothing important."

"But it must be." Star floated over to the bed and sat down in the lotus position as well, "You two are quite angry with each other."

"You're an empath now too?"

Star smiled, "It does not take psychic ability to know when two of your closest friends are angry with each other. I've lived with you for four years now Raven. Do not think I can't tell your moods."

"It's just... we were talking, and he said some things that insulted me."

"Like?" Star arched an eyebrow, "It is not like Cyborg to say hurtful things except in jest. Perhaps his wit simply prodded a sensitive area?"

Raven sighed yet again and leaned forward until she fell over. Star uncurled her legs and let Raven lay her head in her lap. She stroked the psion's hair as she stared out the window next to the bed, "He was telling me about his date with Sarah last night."

"And this upset you? Raven, you like Sarah."

"It wasn't that... I told him how I wish I could have a relationship like that with someone... but I would need to find someone who would understand if I don't always express myself to them. Someone who wouldn't need that constant reassurance."

"Did he know someone?" Star continued to run her hand through Raven's hair, knowing it relaxed the other girl.

Raven was quite for a few moments, then she replied, "He suggested Robin."

Star's hand stopped moving.

Raven frowned and sat up, "Look, Star..." she saw the look of concern on her friends face and almost laughed, "Star... I would never go after Robin. I can sense what he feels, and he LOVES you. Deeply. I wouldn't stand a chance, and you know how I hate futile efforts."

"Yes.... but... why did you grow so upset?" Star looked even more worried now.

Raven closed her eyes and swallowed hard, "Because he was right. I DO need someone like Robin. Someone who could understand me like he does."

"How is that?" now Star was starting to get an edge to her voice.

Raven didn't open her eyes. She didn't want to see the look of betrayal she knew was plastered across Starfire's face right now, "He knows that I CAN love, but he also understands the need for me to keep that emotion under control."

"You have had talks with him about this?"

"Sort of."

"And he understood?"

Raven opened her eyes and looked straight into Star's green orbs, "He made ME understand."

"What did he say to help you understand?"

Raven looked away, "He didn't really say much."

"He is a man a few words." Star nodded sagely.

Raven winced again, "He kissed me."

Starfire froze and her eyes suddenly flashed green, "He did not."

"He did, Star, but don't be mad at him... be angry with me if you want, but not him."

"It sounds like I should be angry with the boy who claims to love me!" Star was almost shouting now.

"He does, Star..." Raven reached out and touched her friends shoulder, "He just... wanted to show me that I can really _feel_ love. I didn't think I could until then. And I did... I... I fell in love with him."

Starfire's eyes softened, "Oh Raven..." she reached out and wrapped her arms around the other girls head, "I am so sorry Robin did this to you."

"Oh, I'm well over that now... sort of... he's a great guy, and I know I'm not the girl for him, but if there was another person out there like him... someone who could understand me like he does... like you do..."

"You will find that person." Star said firmly, pushing Raven out to arms length, "You will find him, and he will love you more then you can imagine."

Raven arched a skeptical eyebrow, "What makes you so sure?"

"You are special Raven." Star smiled at her, "Things will work out. You will see."

Raven smiled at the red head, "You're a true friend Starfire."

"As you are, Raven." she smiled wickedly, "Now, you must have 'girl talk' with me! Tell me of this kiss! Was it any good?"

Raven was bewildered, "Well, yeah, it was great... made me blow up my vase. You're taking this pretty well now."

"Robin was making a point. He has been known to go to extremes before to do so. And like you said, he is in love with me. I trust you Raven."

"Well, I guess I owe you the gory details then don't I?"

"Yes, and if you don't mind, I would also like to know about sex. What does it feel like? How will Robin like it best? What is a 'blow job?'"

Raven burst out laughing, lost her balance, and fell off the bed. She continued to laugh from the floor, even as her books started flying from the book case.

"What?" Starfire asked as she peered down at her hysterical friend.

Raven stopped laughing abruptly and looked up at Star, "You're serious aren't you?"

Starfire nodded happily.

* * *

"That's seven in a row now, Jinx." Cyborg chuckled, "You want to try playing upside down?"

"Fuck you, dude." Jinx threw down her controller, "Street Fighter is NOT my forte."

"Well, if I ever feel the sudden urge to play Super Bust A Move..."

"I TOLD you... I'm better at racers and 3D combat games... side scrollers are antiquated and pointless." Jinx stuck out her tongue.

"Sacrilege." Cyborg grinned at her.

Hopping up off the sofa, Jinx started for the kitchen, "You want anything to drink?"

"Sure, grab me a Code Red."

"Right on." Jinx opened the fridge and poked around for a little while, "Don't you guys have ANYTHING with alcohol in it?"

"BB told me about your little adventure with Raven and a bottle of wine." Cyborg shook his head, "Robin doesn't allow any kind of drug or alcohol in the tower."

"Tight ass." she pulled out a Diet Coke and returned to the sofa where she handed off Cyborg's Code Red, "So you and Raven are having a tiff?"

Cyborg rolled his eye, "Yeah, it's really just her taking things too seriously again."

"What'd you say to piss her off so bad?" Jinx cocked her head to one side.

"We were talking about relationships and she brought up the whole thing where she needs somebody who would understand that she can't always express herself freely. I joked that Robin fit the bill perfectly and she just flipped out on me." he shook his head, "I wasn't _serious_."

"Cy..." Jinx shook her head, "That probably cut her pretty deep." she sat back and closed her eyes.

"Why?" Cyborg turned and glared at her.

"Robin was the first guy she ever fell in love with." Jinx replied quietly, "She doesn't really love him now... more like a little brother kind of thing I think... but still." she opened her eyes and glanced at Cyborg, "Getting him and Starfire together must have been one of the hardest things she's ever done."

"Damn... I didn't know."

"You couldn't have. It was just a mistake."

"I wonder if I'm really that blind to everyone's relationships."

"I don't think so. Robin and Star are obvious. You have to know that BB and I are crushing on each other. Raven still kind of likes Robin, and I think she's jealous of me and B...." 

"What about you and Raven?" Cy arched an eyebrow, "I've seen you looking at her."

"Why wouldn't I?" Jinx smiled an evil little smile, "She's hot, you have to admit."

"I knew it! You like her." Cy poked Jinx in the arm.

"Well, she is my type. I like funny guys, but I also dig the serious chicks... really dry sense of humor, really intense... God I wish I could boff her..."

"That's more then I wanted to know..."

"You can't tell me that you don't think about getting it on with Raven and Star SOMETIMES..."

"Not since I started dating Sarah... and even before that, I never really thought about them that way... I lack any kind of equipment to do anything with...." Cy motioned at his lower body.

"You don't have anything hidden away in there?" he shook his head with a grin, "Even with all the gadgets you come equipped with?" he continued to shake his head, "No King Dong that pops out? No Wonder Vibe 3000 in your finger?" she had him chuckling now, so she waited until he took a sip of his drink, "No hydraulic penis?"

Cyborg burst out laughing at the last comment, spraying Code Red Mountain Dew all over the rec-room. Jinx joined him a moment latter, and they laughed long and hard for several minutes before they finally began to calm down.

* * *

"... and that's when you want to pull back, because if you don't, you'll get a mouthful." Raven finished with a scrunched up face.

"A mouthful is not pleasant?" Starfire looked worried.

"Not really... some girls like that sort of thing... I'm not one of them."

"Still, we are very different. I may try it once to see what it is like." Star nodded and added a note to the yellow legal pad she'd been writing on. It was covered in scribbles in her native language, so Raven had no idea what any of it said. She could only assume it was notes on what she'd been explaining for the past half hour. Star had asked questions, getting detail and interjecting her own thoughts on the matter.

Who would have known that Starfire, second Princess of Tameran, innocent cute girl of the Teen Titans was really, deep down inside, an horny freak? "You'll make Robin a very happy man if you do Star."

"Why is that?" Star cocked her head to one side and looked at Raven with a light smile.

Raven leveled her best sarcastic look at her friend, "There's a sucker born every minute Starfire. Sallowers are harder to find."

Star giggled, "You have been most helpful, Raven. I wish to make my first time with Richard very special. I thank you for your sharing of your experience."

Raven arched an eyebrow, "What experience? I've only had sex twice-"

"Twice now?" Star arched her own eyebrow, "When did this second time happen?"

"Damn," Raven swore, "walked right into that one didn't I?" she sighed and shook her head, "Yesterday on patrol."

"You skipped out on patrol to have sex? With the same man again?"

"No," Raven winced as Star gasped, "a different guy this time..."

"What was his name? Where did you meet him?"

"Um.... I don't know, and I caught him stealing a lady's purse."

Star looked scandalized, "That is... I don't.... you've been a naughty Raven, haven't you?!?"

"No, I'm a very horny Raven. I had some deep meditation to do this morning, and I needed my head clear. Ever since Robin kissed me the other night I've been feeling more and more aroused. Even right now I'm still feeling it a bit." 

"Just talking to me?"

"Well, you're hot, and that top barely covers your boobs on the sides..."

Star looked down to find that Raven was right. It WAS a bit too large to wear without a bra, "You are... 'checking me out'?"

"Is that a problem?" Raven grinned, "You're a babe, Star, people check you out all the time."

"I am seventeen Earth years old, Raven, not a babe. And girls don't usually look at me like.... that."

"Well, you might as well get used to it, because Jinx is as bisexual as they come. I'm starting to think about it too... it's starting to seem like any sex would be good sex."

"Little Raven isn't so little any more... should I start calling you Horny Raven?"

"Only in private. I think Beast Boy and Cyborg would explode if they heard you call me that."

Starfire giggled and stood up, "It is late, Horny Raven. We should both get some sleep."

"Right." Raven stood as well and leaned into her friend, inhaling her scent. They hugged briefly and when they separated, Star smiled broadly.

"Thank you again for all that you helped me with tonight."

"Thank YOU for helping me get over being mad at Cyborg... I'll have to apologize to him in the morning."

"I think that would make the Tower a much more pleasant place. I will see you at breakfast, Raven."

"Goodnight Star. Sleep well."

"And you as well." Star floated up off the ground and flew to the doors, which opened for her, and shut behind her.

Raven sighed one last time as she climbed back into bed and shut the lights off with a wave of her hand. Sleep would be most welcome.

* * *

Robin walked briskly down the hall of the hospital at 7:00 the next morning. Visiting hours started at 7:00 and he was as punctual as ever. Catching a glimpse of himself in a mirror mounted on the wall, he noted that he cut a quite a dashing figure.

When he'd woken up that morning, he'd found that Alfred had been in during the night and laid out clothes for him to wear. It was just like the old butler to buy new clothes for him when he would only be in Gotham for maybe two weeks. It was just the third day and he was already being pampered again.

He did have to admit though, Alfred knew his stuff. The black slacks matched perfectly with the black boots, and the black turtle neck he wore over a plain white t-shirt matched with his hair to finished off the ensemble and make him look dark and brooding. That was fine with Robin, because that was kind of how he felt today.

On his way out he'd grabbed Bruce's black over coat, and a set of keys. He hadn't even looked until he got to the garage and found out that the keys were for the Jaguar.

It was black too.

There was a theme forming here, and Robin liked the way it was going. Dark colors brought out his eyes and made them look piercing and stormy. Today, he wanted people to _get out of his way _if he glared at them.

As he thought about this, he glared at a nurse that was blocking his path. She scampered to the side when she met his eyes.

It seemed to be working so far.

Nearing Barbara's room, he saw a great deal of activity. Doctors and nurses were coming and going, several of them in and out of the room she was being kept in. He quickened his pace and grabbed the first doctor that came near him, "Hey, what's going on with Barbara Gorden?"

"Are you family?" he asked.

"No, just a really good friend. I'm expecting her father to be here soon though."

"Well then, you'll be happy to know that she's waking up." Robin felt his heart jump, "Funny thing though. She called out for the Batman as soon as she woke up."

Robin thought fast, "She probably wanted someone to save her. She got shot in the stomach... and she always was a big fan of The Bat."

"Yeah, probably." the doctor shrugged, "If you want to go in, I'm sure a familiar face would help her get through this better."

"That'd be great, thanks." Robin shook the man's hand and took off at a light jog for the room. Once there, he stepped in around a nurse and looked for the doctor that seemed to be in charge. He spotted a man checking Barbara's vitals, and moved over to him, glancing down at Babs as he did. She was moving her head back and forth, her eyes barely open. She was mumbling something too softly for him to hear.

"Excuse me, Dr. Gerespi?" Robin read the name badge the man wore and he looked up, "I'm Dick Grayson, Barbara's best friend. I was told I might be able to help here?"

"Yes! She needs a familiar face to wake up to. She wont come out of it until she seems someone she knows. We were going to wait for the Commissioner to show up, but you'll do just as well." he smiled warmly at Robin, "Just go talk to her."

Robin nodded and stepped over to the bed. Taking her hand, he watched her turn her head to him and open her eyes a bit wider.

"Bruce?" she whispered.

"No Babs... it's Dick. I'm here." he only then realized that the clothes made him look a lot like Bruce Wayne. Damn that Alfred.

"Richard..." she tugged on his hand and he leaned in to put his ear down by her mouth, "Dick... what the hell is going on? The Joker..."

"You were shot Babs... you're in the hospital now. Don't worry, you're alive and doing well. You've been out for a few days now, but you're waking up." he spoke in a slow, soothing voice.

"Where's Bruce?"

"Working. Your father will be here soon."

"Good.... is everything... taken care of?"

"No one knows who you are."

"Good.... Dick?"

"Yeah Babs?"

She raised her voice and spoke in a normal tone for the first time since she'd woken up, "Why can't I feel my legs?" there was a note of panic in her voice that made everyone in the room stop what they were doing and fall silent, looking at Robin to see what he would do.

He squeezed her hand and swallowed hard. The doctors would toe around it for too long, and draw it out. No one would tell her until she asked directly.

Robin knew Babs wasn't known for her patience. She was a tough girl, and she could take the new straight up, without breaking down or hyperventilating.

So he spoke, "The bullet went right though you Babs. It hit your spine and.... the damage is permanent. You've lost the use of your legs. Forever."

Barbara closed here eyes and swallowed hard. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes again and looked at him directly. He could almost see the years of training in clearing her head after a disorienting fall or blow working behind her eyes. She was coming back to life remarkably quickly, "Are we sure?"

"Two vertebrae were completely destroyed. We're sure."

She settled back into her pillow and sighed, "Guess I'll have to start doing more pull ups to increase my upper body strength then huh? Gotta' learn all those cool wheelchair tricks."

The room let out a collective sigh as she made light of the situation, glad that this patient hadn't flipped out or passed out.

Robin chuckled, "Always the jokester."

"I remember you being quite the comedian yourself, Dick."

"People change Babs. Hey, I'm going to let the doctors do their thing, then we'll kick 'em all out and have a nice long chat before your dad gets here. Sound good?"

"Yeah.... don't go far?"

"I'll be right over there in the corner so I'm out of the way, but I'll still be in the room if you need me."

"Okay. Dick?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being here."

Robin smiled even as his heart was being rent in two, "I wouldn't have missed this for anything."

* * *

Jinx yawned hugely as she sat up from the couch. A blanket had been thrown over her, and a pillow stuck under her head. Cyborg must have tucked her in after she fell asleep. She smiled and rose to go to the kitchen so she could make some tea.

Starfire was already there, making a light breakfast. She had coffee brewing, and a kettle of water coming to a boil on the stove. When she saw Jinx, she smiled and waved from where she was poking at what looked like green eggs and earth worms in a frying pan, "The water for your tea is almost ready."

"Thanks." Jinx smiled gratefully as she pulled down the tea from the cupboard Raven kept it in, and got out a mug. She was starting to see why Raven drank the stuff all the time. It had jinsing in it, and it woke you up quickly in the morning. One had to be on one's toes at all times in Titan tower. No telling when Beast Boy might pull a prank, or Robin and Cyborg would start arguing over something, or Starfire would attack the moving blue food in the refrigerator.

As she poured her tea, Jinx struck up friendly conversation, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Oh yes. I did wake up once though, from a dream about..." she trailed off and blushed, "Robin..."

"Oh." Jinx's eyes widened, "Oh! It was a _good_ dream then?" she smiled wickedly.

Star blushed even redder, "Yes. Very good."

"And here I thought you were the innocent one..." Jinx laughed outright as Star attempted to hide behind her own body.

As the two girls giggled, the doors of the rec-room slid open and Raven walked in, yawning hugely. When she arrived at the kitchen, she didn't ask any questions or give any thanks as she poured herself a mug of tea. After a few sips, she finally paid the other two girls some attention, "Good morning."

"And to you as well, Friend Raven. This glorious day begins brightly and with many warm feelings!" Starfire flew over and presented the alien food she was preparing to Raven and Jinx in a triumphant manner, "Might you wish to partake of my healthful Tolgmorp?"

Jinx took a step back, but Raven, feeling brave, pulled a worm-like strand of green stuff out of the mix and popped it in her mouth. After several seconds of chewing, she gave her verdict, "It tastes like fetid cheese."

"Gag." Jinx said, sticking her tongue out, "I'll pass Star."

"I think I will too." Raven shrugged, "I'll wait for Cyborg to make something edible."

Starfire, used to the Earthlings not being able to handle her excellent cooking, shrugged and floated over to the table with her meal, "Suit yourselves. You are truly missing something special though."

"I'm sure we are." Jinx nodded sagely, then her wicked grin returned, "So, just before you came in we were talking..."

"Oh?" Raven arched an eyebrow. This should be good, "About what?"

"It seems that Starfire had a rather.... _naughty_ dream last night about everyone's favorite little red birdy."

"Again Star?" Raven turned an amused look on the Tameranian, who was once again blushing and smiling shyly, "Well, I suppose it's no wonder after all the questions you were asking last night."

"What questions?" Jinx pounced on the conversation instantly.

"So Star comes in my room last night and stars asking about sex. How to do it, what it's like, what really feels best... you know, things she wants to do with Robin."

"Raven!" Starfire was blushing madly and giggling, "Jinx does not want to hear about our talk over breakfast!"

"Like hell I don't." Jinx grinned broadly, "You explained all of this to her?" 

"I," Raven stated proudly, "gave step by step instructions to innocent little Starfire, Princess of Tameran, on how to give a proper blow job."

Jinx burst into laughter, and after a few minutes (in which Starfire, face red, glared at Raven) composed herself long enough to point at Raven and stutter out, "You... you're such a slut, Rae!"

"Guilty as charged." Raven shrugged.

"Oh yes," Star grinned as Raven's smile vanished, "she certainly is."

"Oh, I feel a story coming on." Jinx looked back and forth between Raven and Starfire for a moment, then looked expectantly at Star, "Spill."

"It would seem that Raven decided to skip out on her patrol duties for an hour or so two night ago." 

"Oh really? Back to Brandon's bed Raven?"

"He wasn't THAT good." Raven muttered as a blush crept up her neck and she stared down into her tea.

Star continued gleefully, enjoying her revenge against her friend, "She stopped a purse snatcher from getting away, then took him to the top of a building and 'did the wild thing all night long.'" Starfire smiled as Raven slurped her tea loudly while she was talking. It wasn't loud enough for Jinx to not have heard though, and the pink haired girl threw her hands up in the air.

"Christ Raven! Did you at least use protection?" she looked amused and exasperated at the same time.

"Actually...." Raven looked like a scolded child, "No. No we didn't."

"And why did you feel the need to have sex on the roof of a building in the middle of your patrol with some random guy you stopped from stealing some bitches purse?"

"I had some deep meditation to do after the patrol was over, and I was really horny, and I didn't want it interfering, and-"

"Enough!" Jinx waved her hands in front of Raven, "No more excuses! We're going shopping!" Jinx slammed the rest of her tea, and wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve, "I'm going to shower and get changed. Be ready to go when I get back down here in forty five minutes."

"What are we shopping for?" Raven asked.

"We're getting you something to help with the horniness. And when we get back we're running a full physical on you to check for STD's and pregnancy. It's not a laughing matter Starfire!" Jinx whirled around and glared at Star, who'd been giggling. The Tameranian stopped.

"I am sorry. You sound like you are trying to be her mother though." Star smiled kindly, "Raven is very capable of taking care of herself."

"Well, today, Mommy Jinx is taking care of her." Jinx turned back to her friend, "Right?"

Raven sighed and her shoulders sagged, "Right." Jinx was right and she knew it. Might as well face facts.

"Good." Turning to Starfire, Jinx grinned her evil grin again, "I'll pick you up something for you and Robin while we're out. He'll love it, I promise."

"That is very kind of you." Star smiled blankly. She had no idea what Jinx was up to.

Raven looked over at Star as she stood to go to her room and change into civilian clothing, "Whenever Cyborg and Beast Boy get up, I want you guys to do some conditioning. Strength and grace today."

"Very well." Star nodded and watched her friends walk to the elevator with a smile on her face. As they left, she dug back into her Tlogmorp with gusto.

* * *

Robin stared out the window of the hospital room at the gloomy Gotham skyline. Clouds hung over the streets in a perpetual haze, and it either rained or snowed on a regular basis.

Today it had chosen to snow.

"Did the sun come out at all when I was away?" he asked as he turned back to Babs, who had been fiddling with her bed controls, getting it into a position where she could sit up.

"Yeah. Twice." she finally got the bed to where she wanted it, then turned to look at Robin, "You were gone for a while."

He arched an eyebrow, "Four years isn't so long."

"It is when you're only sixteen." she replied quietly.

"We went over this then, Babs. I _had_ to go. The JL was looking for a team leader, Cyborg had just signed on, and Beast Boy had just showed up..." he trailed off and looked down at the floor, "More than anything I needed to get of Bruce's shadow. I wanted to be my own hero for once."

"You do a good job out there you know." Babs smiled at him, "Bats is constantly giving me updates."

"That doesn't sound like the Batman I know."

"I know. He's changed since you left. Almost like he lost a part of himself. It's just not the same."

"You've been helping him just fine, Babs."

"How can I explain this?" she seemed to search for the words for a few moments, "Before, he was just The Batman. Then, when you came along, he started to think of you two as Batman and Robin, just like the rest of the world. After a few years, it just seemed natural. Then you left, and there was no more Robin to his Batman." she shook her head, "I was good, Dick, but I was never as good as you were. It was like you and Bats.... you two were a well oiled machine."

"I've heard that said before." he smiled, "And what's all this you _were_ good?"

"In case you've forgotten," she replied coldly, "I've recently lost the use of my legs."

"I haven't forgotten." he reached out and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "But I know you, Babs. You're not a quitter. You'll find a way to get back into the game."

She sighed, "I suppose I'll get the itch again in a few months. Once I'm out of the hospital and just sitting behind my desk at the library-" Robin snorted and then laughed. She looked at him in annoyance, "What?"

"You're a librarian?"

"Yes! Unlike some rich snots I know, I don't have a billionaire giving me a thousand dollars every week!"

"It's every month, and it's about what I'd be making at a regular job. I just spend all my time in uniform."

"Yeah, hanging around that comfy tower out in Jump City bay..."

"It _is_ a pretty sweet deal."

She sighed again, "No room in the Titans for a cripple with computer skills is there?"

"Sorry," Robin put a hand over hers, "we just picked up a new member, and I think Gotham could still use you."

"I don't know what I'm going to do now, Dick." she stared down at the bed in front of her, and a single tear rolled down her cheek, "I'm never going to walk again." she whispered, "Ever." she started to shake and Robin immediately jumped up and crawled onto the bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest, uncontrollable sobs wracking her body.

"Shhh..." he murmured, "It'll be okay, Babs. You'll work around it. I know you wont give up.... I wont let you."

After a few minutes, she manadged to pull away and look up at him with tear stained cheeks, "God Dick.... I've missed you so much. I've wanted you to come back, so we could take walks like we used to... but now... now... I'll never-"

"Stop talking like that." Robin was forceful, "You've never given up before Babs. So you can't walk? So what?" he snapped his fingers in her face, "We'll have you moving faster then the Flash in that wheel chair before you know it, and we'll come up with some way, some how, for you to help again. You may not have your legs any more," he tapped her head, "but you still have your brain. Even Batman will tell you that it's your greatest asset."

"Dick...." she rested her head on his shoulder, "Let's just not think about it right now. Hold me for a little while. Just a little while."

Robin thought of Starfire, and how he had held her just a few days before. THAT had felt right. This felt... different. But not wrong. It felt... like putting on a good, broken in pair of sneakers.

As the two of them fell into silence, Robin stared out the window at the gently falling snow, his heart being pulled in two directions, both of which seemed like good ones.

* * *

Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire all moved slowly on the roof of Titan Tower. Starfire was leading the boys through several Tai Chi maneuvers Robin had taught them a few years back for grace training. The entire team found it relaxing because it was slow, easy moves, and it gave them a chance to talk in a quiet, friendly atmosphere.

"... so she just slept with him right there?" Beast Boy sounded shocked, "Damn, Raven."

"I always thought that she might be a little bit freaky when she started... well, getting freaky, but," Cyborg let out a low whistle, "Damn."

"Yes." Starfire nodded as she swept her arm forward in a graceful arch, "I will concur with both of you." she ended the maneuver flawlessly with a slow palm thrust, "Damn."

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you swear, Star." Beast Boy giggled.

"I do not believe in vulgarity, but in this case, there are few ways in which to express the sheer magnitude of Raven's actions. I did not realize she had had _unprotected_ sex with a stranger." she frowned, "I am also ashamed that I did not think to ask. We are lucky to have Jinx with us."

"I guess." Cyborg followed Star's next move as best he could. His body wasn't built for Tai Chi, "I had a long chat with her last night."

"Did you work out any differences you had?" Star looked sharply at Beast Boy out of the corner of her eye, "Arm straight Beast Boy!" she commanded. He nodded and straightened his arm.

"Yeah, we worked out that I was kind of a jerk to Raven yesterday." he grinned, "We also worked out that I can thoroughly trounce her in Street Fighter."

"Dude, brag all you want, but Robin still schooled you the other day." Beast Boy noted Star's foot position and moved his accordingly to catch up to her rhythm.

"I wonder how ol' Rob is doing out in Gotham?" Cyborg said.

"I'm sure he's doing just great, considering why he went out there." Beast Boy replied with a smarmy voice.

"And what is that suppose to mean?" Starfire asked.

"Oh, don't worry Star." Beast Boy waved it off then moved his hand back into position, "Robin is head over heals for you, and he's not the type to run off with an old girlfriend."

"What?" Star slipped up in her movements, but caught herself and quickly.

"What? You let him go without grilling him about her?" Beast Boy sounded exasperated, "Barbara Gordan, a.k.a. Batgirl, was Robin's first real girlfriend. They were close to each other's age, both vigilantes under Batman's guidance... it was only natural." he shrugged, turning in a slow kicking motion away from Starfire, "She was like, his first kiss and everything."

"I did not know..." Star sounded edgy.

"Oh, it's okay Star." Beast Boy continued on, his eyes closed, ignorant of Cyborg's warning glances, "They called it off and decided that crime fighting and dating don't mix well. Good thing he got over that little issue for you, huh?" there was a sparkling noise and he opened his eyes, "Right Star?" he turned around, dropping his arms, "Star?"

Cyborg stood, glaring at Beast Boy, who's mouth was hanging open as Starfire disappeared in the distance, flying East.

"Way to go, BB." Cybrog growled out "Way to fuckin' go."

"I didn't.... she doesn't normally... I...." he stopped, "MAN! I am SUCH a KLORBAG!"

* * *

Jinx giggled and pointed to an item on the shelf, "How about that one?"

"I'll be masturbating, Jinx, not trying to impale myself." Raven replied dryly as she turned the control of a product called the 'Wondervibe Playmate' up to full. It almost made her hand numb holding it.

Jinx turned away from the two foot long pink monstrosity she had been inspecting and wandered over to the couples section of the sex shop they were in, "What do you think Robin and Star would like better; a massage set, or handcuffs?"

"Robin already has handcuffs." Raven pointed out.

"Not fuzzy padded ones in leopard print, he doesn't." Jinx held up the cuffs in question.

Raven arched an eyebrow, "I'd get both, just to be on the safe side."

Jinx nodded happily and picked up the massage kit as well, "Have you made a decision yet?"

"I think I'm going for the 'Impulse Five Dream Maker.'" Raven set the Wondervibe down and picked up the blue vibrator she had decided on, "Let's get this stuff and get out of here. That guy in the corner looking at the inflatable sheep is making me sick with the nose picking thing."

"Uh...." Jinx glanced at the over weight balding man in question, "Yeah."

They quickly made their purchases and left the Smooth Touch Adult Store, laughing about how surprised Robin would be when he saw Star with fuzzy handcuffs.

Raven had dressed in a form fitting red spandex shirt with the kongi for 'darkness' printed on it, over which she had thrown her black leather bomber jacket. Her pants were tight, dark blue jeans, cuffed to expose her ankle bracelet and red Converse sneakers.

Jinx had gone with a short black skirt that fell to just above her knees, and calf high black boots. Her top was a sleeveless pale violet that set off her bright pink hair, which she had pulled up in a top knot. A thin gold chain with an amulet of Shen.

Raven found Jinx's choice of Egyptian amulet to be interesting. It represented the sun and it's orbit, meaning long life and a bright soul. It was often placed on the bodies of the dead to ensure their eternal life in heaven.

As they walked down the street to the coffee house parking lot where Raven had left Robin's R-Cycle (she had taken it again at Jinx's insistence) Jinx glanced across the street and saw a record store, "Oh! Raven look!" she pointed to the sign in the window, "They have the new Blinding Strobe album! I'll be right back, okay?" and she dashed off across the street and into the store before Raven could even reply.

"Whatever." she shrugged and leaned against the wall of the building she was standing in front of, right next to a wide ally way. As she waited, a muffled scream reached her ears. Instantly on alert, Raven dropped her bag and turned down the ally. It curved around after fifteen or so meters and opened up into a small court yard behind the bike repair shop that sat on one side of the ally.

Lifting off the ground and silently gliding down the ally way, Raven peeked around the corner in time to see a young man with a scar running down his cheek zipping up his pants. A girl lay on the ground in front of him, her limbs splayed out around her, and her clothes tossed off to one side. The young man spit on her.

"That's what happens when you tease too much bitch." Raven's eyes narrowed and her blood boiled. Most rape victims never came forward and accused their attackers, thinking themselves to be dirty, and convincing themselves that they deserved what they had gotten. This guy most likely knew that, and was about to walk away from ten to twenty years in a state prison.

He started to saunter back towards the ally when Raven swooped out in front of him and landed, her eyes glowing with sinister black energy. He stopped suddenly, his face contorting in fear. When Raven spoke, it was with a low, deadly tone.

"You have no idea how serious a situation you are in right now. You've committed on of the worst crimes in the world, and I'm going to see that you pay for it. I'm giving you five seconds to convince me not to kill you where you stand."

"Uh... uh.... uh...." the punk had suddenly lost any sense of articulation, "Uh... please don't kill me?"

The black light faded from Raven's eyes and she cocked her head to the side with a surprised expression on her face, "Well snap! That just blew my argument straight to shit! I mean, it didn't stop on the way for NOTHING. Just blew straight to shit. I mean, pure, unrelenting shit blowage here." she shook her head, "The unadulterated blowosity of the shit boggles my mind."

The man started to edge to the right in order to run around Raven. She simply turned with him, "And you wanna' know something? That pisses me off. Right the fuck off. As in gnawing through someone's still living flesh pissed right the fuck off."

Sinister red light suddenly poured from her eyes as she floated off the ground, wrapping the rapist in black tendrils of energy, "I don't LIKE having my shit blown straight to shit."

"Please!" he screamed, "I'll go quietly!" he stuttered uncontrollably for a moment, terrified by the sheer horror that was Raven, "I'll never do anything wrong ever again!"

"It's a little late for that now." Raven squeezed his body as she pulled his arms in legs in different directions. Laughing as she heard his bones pop out of joint, she pulled harder, listening to his screams.

The half naked woman lying on the ground regained consciousness then, and the first thing she saw upon waking up was her attacker, suspended before her, being tortured by unearthly black energies.

She began to scream as well.

Raven, four eyes burning in hellish delight, slipped further and further away as the Seed took over. Anger bubbled from every pore, and rage seethed unchecked through her body. This man... this _thing_ deserved to die. To be tormented. To be-

"RAVEN!" turning her eyes to stare down the ally, Raven saw Jinx dashing towards her, "Raven, put him down!" she hurled a wave of pink energy at the building next to the psion, bringing some brick down at her, "NOW!"

Raven dodged the brick and laughed at Jinx, "Stay back, foolish girl, or you too will feel my wrath!" and Jinx found herself being flung back and away from the enraged psion.

The woman on the ground, stopped screaming abruptly as the courtyard was filled with a sick crunching and splattering noise. Blood rained down on her and she stared for a few seconds more, her mouth opened in a silent scream of pure horror, before she passed out.

"RAVEN!" the dark haired girl spun around just in time to be tackled from mid-air by Jinx. They hit the ground hard, Jinx on top, blasting the air from Raven's lungs. She struggled to sit up, her eyes still burning with unholy light, but Jinx stayed sitting on top of her, "Raven!" she growled, "Snap out of it!"

"I'll destroy your soul!" Raven attempted to lunge at Jinx, who shoved her back down with all her strength.

"Graaa!" Jinx hauled back a fist, "I said SNAP OUT OF IT!"

As Jinx's fist slammed into her face, Raven regained focus for just a moment before her head hit the ground, blasting her into darkness.

* * *

Closting Notes: That wasn't so bad was it? The 'Shit Blowage' bit comes from The Life of Riely webcomic on ClanBob dot net. It's down right now for a site overhaul, but should be back up soon. I love that rant so much, and the comic it's self is awsome, so I decided to put it in as a little homage. The three pannles that house that rant are actually my current wall paper on my desktop. :)

* * *

StarryRavenFire- Ivy is one of my favs too. She seems like the most sane of the Gotham baddies. :)

MOOgoestheCHICKEN- Cut back on the suger a little maybe? Or did you make some of my Brain Juice Kool-Aid? My girlfriend and I were friends with benifits for a few months before we actually started 'going steady.' It's lasted seven years now, so hey, we did something right. :)

NalaravatheRed- Waffles are God's gift to mankind. That and Ramen. The cheep, 15 cent Raman. It keeps me alive. :)

Stolen Valkyrie- Your encoragement is priceless. Thanks. :) This chapter was meant to provok more confusion then thought, but I get to have fun next chapter explaining things. Then I get to REALLY start the good stuff. :)

robinstar- My most vocal Rob/Star shipper. You hate me right now I know. You wont as soon as the next chapter is up, I promise. :)

Bonekhan- Glad you made it back, I missed you. :) Creepy is my middle name (actually, it's James) and I LIKE writing psyco Raven scenes for that very reason.

Taiba- Maybe Jinx and Beast Boy wont happen in YOUR little world, but you're playing in MY little world now! : P Things get interesting from here. Keep reading, and I just might suprise you!

dbzneon- Did you catch the forshadowing in this chapter? Your dreams just might come true someday. But I'm not gonna tell you one way or the other yet, sorry. :)

Kokuryu- I just LOVE well thought out reviews. I've gotten several this time around, but yours stood out to me for some reason. I think you really grasped what I was trying to convay with the Bruce/ Robin relationship, and that's cool to me. Review again! No pressure or anything.... :)

Heaven's Angel- Oh! Don't stop reviewing just because I already know how much you love me! Praise me praise me praise me! Tell me I done good! I CRAVE ATTENTION! Oh, hope no one actually died for this chapter. That would suck. And don't kill me either. Please? :)

Everyone else who reviewed- Thanks! Your kind words keep me going! Even if it's just a line saying good job and update soon, I love to hear from you. Thanks!

* * *

Next chapter- Jinx yells at Raven, Raven hides in her room, Beast Boy and Cyborg are more confused then ever, Robin gets the suprise of his life when Starfire shows up in Gotham City, Babs mopes, then cheers up, more Joker Hunting, Robin calls on an old friend for help, and the Titans get their first REAL fight in months.


	4. Chapter 4

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jake McDonald

Opening Notes: I know I promised a good fight in this one, but it was once again just getting too damn long. The next one shouldn't take me so long to write for two reasons. 1.) There will be more action. 2.) I wont be writing a one-shot song fic right in the middle of it. Thank you, by the way, to all of you who reviewed Kinda' I Want To. It was a rabid little plot bunny, and I had to smash it's cute little head before I could finish out this chapter. Sorry for the delay.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans but I make a mean pot of Mackycheese.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Slowly, ever so slowly, Raven swam up from the depths of unconsciousness. She found herself lying on the sand, the sound of waves splashing against the shore in the background. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. As her vision cleared, she groaned and sat up.

Looking around, she saw that she was indeed on the beach, and that the sky had become overcast while she was out. It took several seconds for her to remember what had happened, but when she did, the terrible events came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.

"Oh, God...." she moaned as her head fell into her hands, "What the fuck did I do?"

"You know, I actually thought I would be getting away from crime when I joined up with the Titans." Raven looked up to see Jinx sitting not too far away on top of a stone wall that separated the beach from the boardwalk that ran past it. She finally placed them as being on the South Bay Beach. It would be deserted this time of year.

Jinx had her knees pulled up to her chin, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her clothes were splattered with blood, and her hands were stained red as well. She seemed to be huddled against the chill wind that blew past them, bringing tidings of a cold rain shower with it.

"It wasn't..." Raven started, then stopped as her eyes grew cold, "The bastard got what was coming to him Jinx."

"Raven.... you're the one who told me that I couldn't use excessive force any more now that I was one of the good guys..."

"I didn't.... I lost control..." Raven shook her head. She could feel that the Seed was still loose. She would have to be very careful to retain control, "I didn't use _excessive_ force on that guy. He was a rapist-"

"You ripped his fucking arm off Raven."

"I-" Raven stopped and paled, "I did?"

"You don't remember?"

"I know I hurt him... and you knocked me out.... the girl... what happened Jinx?" Raven sounded meek and frightened.

Jinx sighed and slipped down off the wall. She sat down next to Raven, and they both put their backs against the cool stone. Raven's head dipped down and leaned against Jinx's shoulder, and the pink haired sorceress, reached an arm out and hugged her closer.

"I came back from the record store to find you torturing that guy. I tried to stop you, but...." she trailed off and shuddered, "You tore his arm off. The girl passed out again... I can only imagine what kind of shape she's in now... raped and then seeing her rapist getting ripped apart by some amorphous black monster.... she'll be in therapy for the rest of her life..."

Raven winced, "You're not making this very easy."

"Why do you think this should be easy?" Jinx's voice was flat, dead, "After that I managed to knock you out. I did what I could to stop the guy from bleeding to death, then got us the hell out of there. I called from a pay phone and left an anonymous message with the cops that there had been an attack in the ally, and then left as quickly as I could. I got us here and I've been waiting for you to wake up for about an hour now."

Raven had squeezed her eyes shut half way through Jinx's story, "I'm so.... so sorry Jinx...."

"You know, even during all the time I spent with the HIVE, I never actually killed anyone." Jinx laughed harshly, "Now I could very well be an accessory to murder."

"He might not have died.... I'll check in on it as quickly as possible... I'll-"

"I'LL handle it." Jinx said forcefully, "You're in no shape to be doing anything."

"Who's in charge here?" Raven sat up and glared at her friend.

"Give it a rest Raven." Jinx closed her eyes and sighed, "Look, it'll be good practice for me to communicate with the authorities or something like that right? Right now, we need you to figure out what the hell is going on with your powers."

"It's the Seed." Raven replied, a slight tremble in her voice, "It's gotten loose again... last time it happened, I barely got it back in it's cage before it consumed my soul."

Jinx had opened her eyes and now stared blankly at the psion, "Okay.... that was kinda'.... vague..."

Raven sighed, "I was born in the dimension of Azarath. My mother was a pure soul, but was tricked into having a child with Trigon, the demon king of that plane of existence. So I'm half demon."

Jinx nodded her head, a serious look on her face, "Following you so far. Continue."

Raven closed her eyes again and concentrated so as not to let the seed gain too much control. Just thinking about her fate made her angry, "My Father's essence sits deep inside my soul, waiting for the day when it can get out and take control of me. It really was kind of a good plot... send his little girl to the dimension so that he could eventually use me as a portal to pour his demon hordes on to Earth and begin his conquest of this plane." she shook her head, "I fight everyday to maintain control. I've built mental cages to keep the Seed in, but every now and then... when I get angry... it gets out. When it was planted, it took on the form of my anger and rage... without the Seed, I can't feel those emotions. It's as much a part of me now as my own soul. I can't get rid of it."

"So you need to regain control of it again. How'd you do it last time?"

Raven blushed, "Beast Boy and Cyborg accidentally got into my mind and helped me."

"You want me to help you this time?" Jinx asked.

"No." Raven opened her eyes, "This is something I have to do alone." Jinx started to protest, but Raven held up a hand, "Trust me.... when I'm inside my own mind, I'm not alone."

There was a beat of silence between them before Jinx spoke again, "You do know that makes you sound a hundred bloody percent daft?"

Raven's cheeks reddened and she looked away, "I'm not too sure that's far from the truth."

* * *

Robin shut the door to the hospital room quietly. No sense in waking her now that she'd finally fallen asleep. After two hours of sitting with Babs and stroking her hair, she given in to exhaustion.

Robin was grateful, as his arm had fallen asleep some time ago.

As he rubbed his arm to try to get some of the feeling back into it, he turned to walk down the hall and almost ran straight into a tall man with a thick mustache. Taking a quick step back, Robin looked up and started to apologize, "Sorry man, I didn't see you there, and-" he stopped as he recognized the man before him, "Commissioner Gordon! We were expecting you hours ago!"

"I was held up at work." the Commissioner held out his hand and Robin shook it firmly, "It's good to see you again Dick. Barbara's glad to see you too, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah. She's sleeping right now, but if you wait a few hours I'm sure she'll come around again."

"That's okay... I actually arrived here almost a half hour ago, but she was in such capable hands that I just let things run their course. It's almost as if you two seem closer now than before you left."

"She's been through a lot." Robin said quietly as he looked down at the floor, "Any leads on who might have done it?"

"Not a thing." Gordon sighed and began to guide Robin down the hall with one hand, "We're damn lucky she was found so quickly... she would have died if the Batman hadn't found her."

"The Batman?" Robin arched an eyebrow. He knew the story of course, but had to play dumb for the Commissioner. He was supposed to be Dick Grayson, after all.

"Yeah. He called it in and stayed with her until the EMS unit showed up. Said he would have started a search right away for her attacker but he was afraid she would have bled to death if he hadn't stayed and administered emergency first aid."

"Is he working the case now?"

"I don't know what he gets up to, really. We have a very one-sided friendship," Gordon smiled weakly as they stopped in front of the doors to the cafeteria, "he knows everything we're up to, and doesn't tell us a thing about what he's doing."

"Sounds frustrating." Robin grinned inwardly. They didn't know the MEANING of the word frustrating when dealing with Batman. The number of times he'd left Robin out of the loop... and they were supposed to be partners!

"Well, the important thing is that she's alive... even if she's lost her legs." Gordon sighed again and shook his head to clear it, "Now, why don't you let me buy you lunch Son?"

"Oh no, Commissioner, I can get my own food-"

"Nonsense!" Gordon smiled and slapped Robin on the back, "It's the least I can do for my daughter's boyfriend!"

Robin stumbled forward from the slap and smiled weakly, "Um... about that... we're not really... dating..."

"Oh? You looked pretty close back in her room!"

"She needed someone to... well... I have a girlfriend back in Jump City, and I don't really want to lead her on... I'll talk to her about it later today."

Gordon just laughed, "You remind me of myself when I was your age, Dick! All the girls just flocking to you!"

"Yeah... real ladies man..." Robin laughed nervously as they stepped up to get some food. He would have to talk to Babs about Starfire latter. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea, if he hadn't already done so.

* * *

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked up from where they were playing 'Super Ninja Fury 3' as the door to the rec-room slid open. Raven and Jinx walked in, toting unmarked black bags and walking quickly towards the elevator that led to the next level.

As they walked past the couch, the boys noticed Raven's slouched posture, and the blood splattered all over Jinx's clothes. The girls didn't acknowledge them in any way as they continued past.

"Hey! Yo!" Cyborg jumped up and walked over to stand in front of them, "What the heck happened? Where did all the blood come from?"

"Don't worry about it Cy, it's under control-" Jinx was cut off by the robotic Titan,

"Like hell I wont worry! That's a lot of blood! BB!"

"Dude!" Beast Boy was walking around the two of them inspecting them for any injuries, "You guys don't seem to be hurt so that has to be someone else's blood. Where did it all come from and why are you looking at us like that Rae?"

"Guys, now isn't the time to-" Jinx was cut off again, this time by Raven,

"Get out of MY WAY!" the psion shouted and the boys were pushed to either side of the room by waves of black energy. They stood with shocked looks on their faces as Raven stepped into the elevator and Jinx hurried after her. After the doors had slid shut the two remaining Titans looked at each other.

"What was that all about?" Beast Boy wondered aloud.

"No idea... but I think we'd better go over the police reports for the last hour or so." Cyborg started for the computers, but before he even got to a terminal, his communicator started beeping,

"Hey! Cyborg!" it was Jinx.

"What's up?" he raised his arm to his mouth to respond.

"Raven says not to bother with the police reports. We have the situation under control."

"What the hell is going on, Jinx?"

"I'll tell you about it latter. Raven was saying something about the Seed. You have any idea what that is?"

Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged a look, "Yeah, we know about it." Cyborg responded, "If that's the problem then you need to stay with her. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid okay?"

"Right. We'll be in the medical lab if you need us. Jinx out." 

"Later." Cyborg signed off and sighed, "She must have lost control and hurt someone."

"Do you think Jinx stopped it before it went to far?" Beast Boy looked worried.

"With the amount of blood that was on her? I doubt it. Let's just hope no one ended up dead."

"Dude... this is bad."

"Tell me about it... Raven could get in some serious trouble if this gets out."

Beast Boy wrung his hands, "I'm more worried about what she'll do to me when I tell her I accidentally made Star run off to Gotham City!" Cyborg arched his eyebrow and frowned at his friend. Beast Boy threw his arms out to his sides, "What?"

* * *

"You have a verdict for me yet?" Raven asked as she walked back into the medical lab, pulling her shirt back over her head as she did.

"You're not pregnant." Jinx replied as she gazed into a microscope.

"Oh good. No little demons running around now."

"I'm still working on this sample... I'm not a doctor and-"

"Let me see." Raven gently pushed her aside and gazed down through the lens for a few moments. "All clear."

"How do you know?"

"Cell count. You might not be a doctor, but I could probably test out of enough classes to have an MD in a few years." Raven shrugged.

"You must get a lot of practice." Jinx began to clean up the room, and Raven moved to help her.

"I can't use my healing powers on everything."

"So now what?"

"I need you to check the police reports. Find out what happened to that guy."

"And you?"

"I'm going to sequester myself in my room and attempt to regain control of the Seed."

"What if you can't?" Jinx sounded frightened.

"If I can't, then it destroys me and I go insane. You'll know when I come out of my room and start blowing the Tower apart."

"Lovely." Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Jinx, look..." Raven touched her shoulder as her voice grew quiet, "If I loose, and the Seed takes over, you'll have to kill me."

Jinx paled, "What?"

"Cyborg and Beast Boy... they wouldn't be able to. Star is absolutely out of the question... I would have Robin do it if he was here, but..." Raven stopped for a moment, "It's just... you're the only one I'd trust to do it."

Jinx glared at her for a moment, then sighed and let her shoulders sag, "You'd better win against that thing then Raven, 'cause I don't know if I could do it either."

"Promise me you will." Raven grabbed her shoulder roughly and shook her, "You have to promise me!"

"Raven, I told you I-" Jinx was cut off as Raven shook her hard enough to give her whiplash.

"PROMISE ME JINX!" the psion's eyes were wide, and she looked desperate.

"I promise." Jinx replied quietly, her eyes brimming with tears, "If it comes to that... I'll end it for you."

Raven's eyes softened and she hugged the pink haired sorceress, "Thank you."

With that, she turned and walked out, leaving a blood stained, crying Jinx to finish cleaning the lab up.

* * *

Starfire rubbed her arms in order to ward off the chill as she flew towards Gotham City. The air was much colder this far North on Earth, and the sharp winds blowing in off the Atlantic Ocean didn't help matters any. She must have flown up too far.

She had heard stories of this white substance called 'snow' that was made up of crystallized water particles, but had never seen any down in Southern California. If she had known how cold and wet it was, or how much it would obscure her vision, she would have put on warmer clothes and brought flight goggles before haring off after her boyfriend, three thousand miles away.

A day long flight for her at almost top speed, it had worn her out more than she had thought it would, and now the cold seemed to be draining away what little strength she had left. She quickly decided that a warm meal and a brief rest would do her good before she had to confront Robin about his possible infidelity.

Swooping down to the city she was flying over, she landed in front of an ATM outside a gas station. Several people pumping gas gaped at her as she hummed a merry tune, pulled a credit card out of her belt pouch, and inserted it into the machine. A few seconds and a punched PIN number latter and Star held a wad of cash in her hand. The people staring in awe didn't notice as their pumps clicked off and stopped pumping, but they all raised their heads as the beautiful red head flew up into the air again.

It only took her a few minutes to find a decent looking diner, though all the buildings in this town seemed to look dark, run down and sinister. People on the street didn't point at her and stare in awe like they did in Jump City, either. In fact, most of them screamed or hid in an ally.

As she landed, Star wondered exactly where she was. Pulling out her T-Comp as she pushed through the doors to the diner, she checked her GPS location. It read sixty miles North of Gotham, re-affirming her belief that she had flown too far. As she searched the database for the name of the city, she felt something prod her shoulder and heard a man speaking to her.

"I am sorry," Star looked up and smiled, "I was engrossed in my work. What is it I can do for you?" she saw a tall man standing before her, wearing a black trench coat and dark sunglasses.

And he was pointing a gun at her chest.

"I said give me everything of value that you have, bitch. Money, jewelry..." he leaned back and looked her body up and down, "...maybe your bra..."

Star decided to ignore the bra comment for now, "You wish to... 'mug' me?" she cocked her head to the side in an inquisitive manner.

"I'm robbing every other mother fucker in this place, so why not you too?" the man sneered at her, "Now fork it over, honey."

"I do not think that this is a very wise course of action." Star shook her head, "Why do you wish to do something so reckless and crule?"

"Hey, we all have to make a living somehow. Cough up, bitch, or I cap you right here."

Star persisted, "But why attempt to steal what others have worked so hard for?"

"No one works hard for money in this town, kid." 

"Then it must be a very counterproductive town." Star raised her nose in the air and gave the man a superior look.

He just grinned, "Welcome to Blödhaven, babe." and he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Robin stepped quietly into the dimness of Barbara's hospital room for the second time that day. The sun was setting, on the other side of the building from where they were, so the illumination from the single window wasn't very much. He was going to see if she was awake, and if she was, he'd have that talk with her, but if she wasn't, he would just go out and hunt down Harley.

He found himself hoping she would be asleep.

Walking over to her bed, he went to brush a hand across her brow, "Hey, you awake Babs?"

As his fingers were about to brush against her head, her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist, pulling him into a lock hold. The move took him by surprise, so he didn't manage to get his hand away in time, but she was weakened, and he had always been a bit more skilled then she was, so he was able to twist away from her without too much difficulty.

"Robin?" he heard her harsh whisper.

"Yeah, it's me... call me Dick."

"Dick... sorry..." Babs settled back into her pillow, "You startled me. You move too damn quietly Grayson."

"Sorry. I thought you were asleep."

"Then why did you come in?" she arched an eyebrow at him in the darkness and smiled a bright white smile, "Or do I really need to ask?"

"That's what I came in here to talk to you about." he shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet, "Look, Babs-"

"Don't just stand there, Dick. There's a perfectly good chair right next to the bed over here." apparently she hadn't noticed his defensive body language in the darkness of the room. With a sigh, he sat down.

"There, now isn't that much better?" he hand reached out and teased his hair, "Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Robin reached up and took her hand, pushing it gently back to the bed, "I wanted to talk to you about us."

She batted her eyes at him playfully, "What about us, Dick?"

"We're not dating."

"Well, no, but... you flew out here when I was hurt, you were the first one here when I woke up, and you cuddled me to sleep earlier today... are you saying all that doesn't mean you like me?"

"No, that's not it... I do like you-"

"Then why not start dating? I mean, the long distance thing wouldn't be an issue, 'cause I can just move out to Jump City now-"

"I like you like a sister Babs." Robin cut her off quietly, and she froze, "I... have a girlfriend. Back in Jump City."

Babs was quiet for several moments, "Oh." she replied meekly.

"I'm sorry if I led you on at all, Babs, but you really seemed to need me, so I did what any good friend would do and tried to make you feel better..." he trailed off at the pained look on her face.

"So you don't like me... like that?" she asked quietly.

Robin didn't speak for a solid minute. He just stared at her. Finally, he looked away, "That's just it. I think I might like you in a romantic sense... you were the first girl I ever felt anything for after all... you'll always hold a special place in my heart. But I can't do that to Kori."

"Kori?"

"That's her name. My girlfriend."

"Oh." Babs looked away from him, "So now what?"

This was the part Robin was dreading most, "I don't think I should come hang out for long periods of time like I did today. I don't want anything to... happen between us that might make me..." he trailed off and blushed, "I'm sorry Babs, but I'm going to just put in some overtime on finding Harley and-"

He was cut off by her lips as she crushed her mouth against his. His eyes grew wide as her hand tangled in his hair, holding him in place while she steadily started worming her tongue into his mouth. His resolve started to slip and he let her sweep the inside of his teeth once before he regained control of himself.

"Babs!" he shouted as he pulled away, pushing her back into her bed. She flopped back with a cry of pain as the stitches in her stomach were stretched. Robin stood up and away from the bed so quickly that his chair fell over, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"I was just... hoping... maybe if you remembered how it was before... you'd...." she started to cry, "I don't know Dick. What's so special about this Kori girl that makes you love her so much?" Babs turned away from him, "Civilian relationships don't work for people like us, Robin, so why are you even trying?"

"She's not a civilian." Robin replied quietly, "Kori is better known as Starfire. She's one of my teammates."

Babs rolled back over and stared at him with wide eyes, "So you'll date a superhero in Jump City but not in Gotham, is that it?"

"I've grown up a lot since I moved out there, Babs. I told you before, people change." he looked at her significantly, "I'VE changed, and so have you. It just... wouldn't work between us."

"Why _not_?" she demanded.

"Because I don't feel for you like I do for her... Kori... she's special. She's taught me a lot... about myself... about... well..."

Babs stared at him for a moment with a sad, thoughtful look on her face. After a moment, she started to smile a little, "You love her don't you?" he looked away and fidgeted. She almost laughed, "I knew it! You do, don't you? Not just like, a crush, like you have on me, but it's full blow, toe curling, birds singing love, isn't it?"

Robin shuffled his feet and looked everywhere but at her, "Yeah." he mumbled.

Babs did laugh at that. "Dick... get out." he looked at her with a hurt expression. She rolled her eyes, "Don't come back until you've found the Joker and kicked his ass. THEN we'll talk about this."

Slowly, Robin grinned, "Okay." he nodded as the idea sank in, "Okay. I'll see you then, Babs."

"Later, Boy Wonder." she waved as he walked out the door.

* * *

Starfire finished turning the hand gun the man had been pointing at her into a small wad of steel and tossed it into the trash can by the door. Turning back to the robber she noted that he had flown a little further than she had intended, and had ended up hanging over the bar of the diner, out cold. She shrugged as she walked over, hefted him to her shoulder, and walked to the door.

Looking around the street as she stepped out, Star noticed a policeman walking past on the other side of the road. "Excuse me! Officer!" she flew over and deposited the man on the ground, "This man was robbing the diner across the street. You may take him in to custody."

"Uh..." the cop stared at her, "Alright..."

"Thank you!" Star nodded and bowed slightly before flying back to the diner and stepping back inside.

The owner of the diner was right there to shake her hand and thank her profusely and to offer her a free meal, which she accepted gracefully.

After she had eaten, Star was standing to leave when a police officer walked in. He made a b-line for her, then stopped in front of her, blocking her way to the door. "Are you the woman that beat the crap out of a perp that was robbing this place?" he asked in a harsh, rude voice.

"Yes." Starfire shrugged, "He was pointing a fire arm at me, and I decided that use of such force was required."

The cop slapped a cuff over her right wrist and yanked her towards him, "In that case, you're under arrest for assault. You have the right to remain-"

"I am afraid there must be some mistake. I am a 'good guy.' I do things to HELP the police."

"Assault is assault no matter what you're doing it for, babe. Now come on!" he yanked on the cuff again, but this time, Star didn't even let her wrist jerk. Reaching over with her left hand, she burned a hold through the handcuffs, and pulled her right hand free.

"I will do as I please. In Jump City we work WITH the police. I have been told that the hero's on this side of the country are more at odds with the local law enforcement. Whatever the case is, I must be leaving now. Goodbye." and she flew over him faster than he could grab her. Out the door and up into the sky she went, searching for South with her T-Comp. Once she had her direction, she took off at top speed. Blödhaven had too many problems to try to solve while she was on her way to see her boyfriend. It would take a miracle and a hero with more dedication and drive then she had at the moment to clean it up.

Ten minutes latter she was flying over the highway signs that read 'Gotham City exits are 67 through 85'. Stopping in mid air, did a quick location scan on her T-Comp to triangulate Robin's position in this city. She found it moving quickly up to the hills and towards a large dark building she could barely make out from her high ground vantage.

With a frown, she flew off in pursuit of the signal.

* * *

Raven had stripped off her clothes as soon as she had entered her room. Meditation like she was about to attempt should be done in absolute comfort, and Raven found her mind clearest when she was naked. No clothes to rub against you, and the chill air of the Tower's AC washed over her skin, giving her something to focus on while she attempted to reach the proper level of trance.

Floating in the middle of her room, naked, legs crossed in the lotus position, Raven drew deep, even breaths while she dove relentlessly deeper into her own mind. After several minutes, reality began to slip.

She found herself standing on the barren plains of Azarath, her home. Or at least, it looked like her home. The hellish landscape glowed with fiery hues under the eternal blood red sunset, and the sharp sent of brimstone hung in the air. This was where she had been born.

"Aspects!" she called, and they began to gather. As she had grown from a child into a woman, her aspects had grown with her. Some remained the same, like Happy, Timid, Brave, and Rudeness, but others had changed. Intellect had evolved into Wisdom, taking on the role of the librarian as well as the researcher. Driven had become Focused, changing from a brash do-or-die type into a calm, collected do-your-absolute-best type.

Perhaps the most evident change was Protector. Formally know as Preservation, the entity had evolved with Raven's changing outlook. She now sought to protect those around her, even if it meant taking a few hits herself. The rapid change in her perception had caused a slight distortion in the aspect, causing it to take on physical traits of the people who had influenced her to change.

It manifested wearing an light purple cloak that would have made Starfire proud, offset by the black mask that covered it's eyes; one that looked suspiciously like Robin's. The pointed ears were defiantly Beast Boy's and the titanium breast plate wasn't hard to place either.

As the small crowd of aspects gathered, Raven looked about for any new faces. If she called them, they came. Her aspects weren't capable of disobeying her orders, with the exception of the Seed, who was only her aspect so far as to represent her anger and rage, and otherwise was not a natural part of her mind.

Two new ones jumped out at her immediately. One was taller then the others, and wore a sky blue cloak, pulled back to reveal her finely chiseled face. Raven recognized it as her residual self image of what she might look like in ten years or so. Older, with more poise.

The second was wearing a red cloak, and for a moment, Raven thought that the Seed had actually showed up. Closer inspection revealed that the new arrival had only two eyes, both of which were clear of any red demonic light. This aspect seemed to smile knowingly at the others, and seemed to bump into them more often then it should have.

"Wisdom," she addressed the aspect wearing the sea-foam green cloak and the nerdy glasses, "Who are the two new ones?"

Wisdom cast a bespectacled gaze at them, then turned back to Raven, "The taller one is Love, recently awakened from a dormant state by Robin, and the other is..." she wrinkled her nose as if she didn't care for this one, "Desire. She has been quite disruptive."

Raven could imagine why. Her sexual desires had been keeping her from getting hardly anything constructive done lately, and that must manifest here as Desire running around and driving the other aspects to distraction.

"I've acquired something to help with that. Like the others, she'll have her time and place." Wisdom nodded and looked off at the horizon,

"There is one other." she said in her usual serious, no-nonsense voice.

"Great..." Raven mumbled, "Who is it?"

Just then, a green blur blasted from the horizon and landed squarely on top of Wisdom, who was smashed into the ground.

"You're taking up too much of her time!" shouted the new aspect, who was clad in a dark forest green cloak, "It's my turn!"

"Go right ahead..." Wisdom nodded, then slumped back to catch her breath.

Raven arched an eyebrow as the green aspect stepped off of Wisdom and stuck out her hand to be shaken by her mistress, "Jealousy, at your service!"

* * *

Robin had just walked in to the Batcave, pulling his shirt over his head as he did, when the alarm started blaring. Frowning, he walked over to the computer and shut it off. The intruder alarm alerted them to anyone who had invaded the manors grounds, not just the Batcave, and checking all the monitors took some time.

He had developed a practiced eye over the years though, and was pleased to note that he hadn't lost his touch. Flashing rapidly through the cameras that monitored and recorded every square inch of the grounds, he took only forty seconds to find what he was looking for.

A solitary figure walked along the long drive that led up to the manor, hugging herself to ward off the chill. The long red hair and purple clothing would have been a dead give away of her identity even if she hadn't been holding up one glowing green hand to light her way.

Robin's eyes grew wide for a moment, then narrowed. As he wondered why she had come to Gotham, he pulled his shirt back on and typed up a com window on the computer, "Robin to Batman."

There was a ten second pause, "Go ahead Robin."

"I wont be able to make it out tonight. Something's come up."

"What is it NOW, Dick?" Batman sounded annoyed.

"Uh... my girlfriend just showed up at the manor. I'll send her home in the morning, but I think I'd better keep her here tonight."

Batman sighed in an exasperated manner, "Alright, but you'd better be out here tomorrow night, or I'll be recruiting someone else from the League to help me."

"Affirmative Batman, I'll be there. Robin out." and he signed off.

Heaving a sigh of his own, Robin walked back to the elevator that would take him back up to the manor. If he ran, he would be able to meet Starfire at the door.

* * *

Jinx sat down at the computer in Robin's room. She didn't have her own yet, and didn't really feel like playing twenty questions with Cyborg and Beast Boy right now, so the rec-room was out of the question as well. That left Robin's computer as the only viable option in the Tower.

It only took her a few minutes to figure out how he had things set up, then she was diving into police reports and hospital files, trying to find the man Raven had dismembered. As she looked, she found herself getting more and more disgusted with how many people were brought in to the hospital with gun shot and stab wounds, and how few people the police were bringing in for those crimes. Jump City really seemed to need the Titans.

"Maybe I should head out on patrol after I finish here..." she whispered to the empty room. Something about sitting in the chair of the Boy Wonder, working on his computer, doing his job... it made her want to actually _do good_. She felt like jumping from roof top to roof top like he did, chasing down criminals like he did. She felt like picking up the slack for him while he was out of town.

Jinx had done research on Robin, just as she was sure he'd done his share of snooping on her. She'd followed his career, starting from when he'd joined Batman on the streets of Gotham, up until he had been selected by the JLA to lead a group of young hero's in Jump City, a place that had recently seen it's share of super powered crooks.

Her thoughts were brought back to the task at hand as her eyes caught a police report. A man had been placed under arrest for rape, but was being held at Jump City General Hospital for severe injuries. Jinx almost cried in relief. Following the lead, she traced it to the hospital's records.

The perpetrator had had his right arm torn off by what was being reported as 'a black pudding monster.' Jinx almost laughed. How would Raven react to her manifested powers being called a pudding?

Just then, a com window popped up and started flashing. It took her a few seconds to find who the sender was, but when she did, she arched an eyebrow. Robin was in good with _everybody_. Hitting the reply button, she smiled.

"Go ahead Chief."

"Robin?" the Chief of Police for Jump City sounded confused.

"That's a negative, Chief. This is Jinx, I'm new to the Titans."

"Oh, yes. We received a memo from Robin about you. He's not there is he?"

"No, he's not." she shrugged, even though the communication was voice only, "Sorry."

"Quite alright. I usually talk with him, but I suppose any Titan will do. We've received a case, and it seems to me the Titans would be better equipped to handle it than the police."

"The black pudding monster?" Jinx covered her mouth to smoother her giggles.

"Yes, you've seen it then?"

"I have all the details right here." Jinx smiled. This would work out perfectly.

"Good... any thoughts on it?"

"It's enough to go on. We'll start working this one right away. It's been awhile since we've seen any good action."

"That's not always a bad thing, but I guess you young kids... being hot headed like you are..." the Chief chuckled, "Be careful out there Jinx, and welcome to the side of good."

Rolling her eyes, Jinx responded, "Thank you Sir." Who said things like that? Did super hero's have to put up with people sounding like idiots whenever they were spoken to?

"Very good. I'll be in touch."

"We look forward to hearing from you. Jinx out." The communication went dead.

Sighing, Jinx got up from the computer as she shut all the windows she had open. Walking over to Robin's night stand, she picked up a mask he had laying there. After staring down at it for several minutes, she walked into his bathroom and smoothed it on over here eyes.

Several trips back and forth between his room and bathroom later and she was also wearing his spare cape and utility belt.

"Patrol it is then." she narrowed her eyes at the mirror, and was pleased to see that the mask did so as well. This was going to kick ass.

* * *

Raven slapped Jealousy's hand away from her and narrowed her eyes, "You're the one that's been causing all of the disturbances, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" Jealousy tried to look innocent, but failed miserably.

"You've been letting the Seed out, haven't you?"

"So what if I have?" Jealousy stepped back and looked miffed, "I only did it to stop that girl from taking what's rightfully ours-"

"Beast Boy does not belong to us." Raven seethed, "You will be taught when to be active and when not to. Wisdom!"

"Yes, Raven?" Wisdom, having recovered from being smashed, stepped up.

"Take Jealousy aside and explain to her what her job is."

"She has been doing exactly what she was created for in the first place."

"She's disrupting things!" Raven growled at her aspect.

"It is up to you to suppress her when you are not here."

"Damn it." Raven turned away and tried to calm herself. She could feel the Seed's presence drawing closer now. "The Seed is coming. I'll need all of you to join with me so that I can cage it again."

"That wont be necessary." Love stepped forward, "I can cage it."

"What?" Raven turned to the aspect, "By yourself?"

"Yes."

"Wisdom, how is that possible?"

Wisdom spoke calmly as ever, even as the wind picked up and the blood red sky turned black, "Hate can be counteracted by it's opposing force."

"Love." Raven nodded, "Very well then. What must I do?"

"Simply think of something you love. Or someone." Love shrugged, "As long as you are expressing that emotion, I am stronger."

Raven thought hard. As the Seed came over the rocky crag to her right, looking exactly like her father, Trigon, she found the mental charm she needed.

Jinx had treated her like a sister. Jinx had stopped her from killing a man. Jinx had taken care of her, even though she was a monster.

She loved Jinx for everything she was. Friend, protector, and sister.

With that thought, Love swelled to twice her normal size and reached out for the Seed just as it came within her reach. Grabbing hold of it's arm, she pulled it into an embrace as it howled in frustration. Powerless to do anything against this new force, the Seed returned to it's normal Raven sized form, and vanished in a flash of black light. When it reappeared, it was in a cage on the ground.

Raven nodded and smiled. Love, huh?

"I'm returning now. Love, thank you."

"There is no need to thank yourself. It is your love that fuels me, after all."

"All the same." with one last look at Jealousy (who was being felt up by Desire) Raven retreated from her own mind, back into reality.

* * *

The door to Wayne Manor opened smoothly and silently even as Starfire raised her hand to knock. Confused, and more than a little frightened, she took a step forward.

"Hello?" she called out into the darkened hallway.

A familiar voice echoed out from the inky blackness, "You shouldn't have come her, Star." Robin melted out of the shadows, his black clothing and raven hair blending in with his dark surroundings, "Jump City is more important than me." he looked serious and angry, and his voice sounded disappointed.

Starfire looked down at her feet and shuffled them a little bit, intimidated by her boyfriends anger and coldness, "I am sorry, Richard... I could not help myself. After Beast Boy told me, I flew off without thinking, and then I ended up in this awful city just up the river, and the police there are very rude, and then I finally found you but you were in this dark and frightening place, and-"

"Kori!" Robin sounded amused all of a sudden, "Slow down!" he stepped forward and flicked a light switch next to the door, illuminating a well appointed entryway, "Come in out of the cold and tell me the story from the beginning. What was it that Beast Boy told you?"

Starfire stepped in and shut the door behind herself, "He informed me that you had come here to see an old girlfriend." Star glared at him, "You did not tell me that this Barbara was the first girl you ever kissed."

"Does that matter? Kori, I love you. What reasons do you have to doubt me?" Robin chose not to add that her fears had come close to being realized, and made a mental note to kick BB's ass next time he saw the changeling.

"It is not that I doubted you, Richard, just that... I wanted to be near you." her face fell and she leaned against the doors, "You are going to send me away aren't you?"

Robin's brain kicked into high gear, processing everything he had heard so that he could make the proper choice. She had come here because Beast Boy had told her about his past with Babs, then from the sound of it she had ended up in Blödhaven of all places, and then she'd probably followed his T-Comp signal here. She wanted to stay because she missed him, but also to keep an eye on him. He wasn't so dense that he couldn't see that little white lie.

Then he remembered what Batman had said earlier about bringing someone else from the JLA. They could really use someone who could fly in their search for the Joker, and another set of fists never hurt anything either... if he played his cards right, he was sure he could get Bruce to let her stay and help.

"No." He had said it, and there was no turning back. Her face came up, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and she threw herself into his arms. He laughed lightly as she hugged him, then drew back and kissed her.

After they separated, he smiled at her and spoke, "Don't think this gets you off the hook though. If you're staying, you're helping out. We still need to find the Joker, and Babs is still going to need someone to go see her... she kind of kicked me out today." he grinned stupidly at her quizzical look, "What? You think everybody enjoys my company as much as you do?"

"I shall go see her soon then." Starfire smiled back at him, "If for no other reason then to relive her of your tedious presence.

"Hey!" Robin laughed with her before reaching out and lightly smacking her bottom, "Brat."

Starfire blushed deeply, then leaned in to him, "I've been having dreams about you doing that to me for the past few nights..." she said in a low, husky voice. He stared down at her and stared back up. Her eyes were dark with passion, and his were wide with anticipation.

"Ah-hem." they both jumped and seperated with a shout as they whirled around to see Alfred standing in the door way that led to the West wing, "Shall I make up a guest room for two then, Master Richard?"

Robin, his heart still racing from the shock and embarasment, nodded his head, "Yeah, that'd be great Alfred. Thanks."

"Very good Sir." Alfred paused before he turned around and winked at Robin, then nodded to Starfire, "Very pleased to meet you Miss Kori. Excuse me." and he turned and left.

Robin and Starfire looked at each other, then burst out laughing. After several minutes, they calmed down and Star looked around, "Where is the rest room in this large house?"

"One of the twenty you mean?" Robin arched an eyebrow, "Down that hall there. First door on the right."

"Thank you! Will you wait for me here?"

"Of course! You'd get lost in here without me." Robin smiled as she giggled and ran off. His smile went away when she was out of sight.

With Starfire gone from Jump City, it put the team down a member. Even with Jinx there to help them, the Titans were still only four strong now, and Robin didn't trust this streak of peaceful times they'd been having to last too much longer.

They were going to need back up. Just a temporary man to fill in for Starfire while she was in Gotham with him. He pulled out his T-Comp and check the time.

It was late on the East Coast, but he knew they would still be up. Well, the person he needed to talk to would still be up anyway. They were a lot alike, after all.

Flipping open the communicator, he punched in a code, then spoke, "Robin to Titans East. Come in Speedy."

* * *

Closing Notes: Today I learned how to replace a toilet seat and and put up a hand towel ring. Gad my life is exciting.

* * *

Reviewer Responses!

Thanks to: NalaravatheRed, Heaven's Angel, Stolen Valkyrie, Greg867, conka, Dark Angel, and Hyper Chick! You guys all rock!

StarryRavenFire: Just down the street and around the corner from my house is the Velvet Touch Sex Shop. The sex shop in the story was based on that... fun place.

Bonekhan- I have an evil plan. It's evil. It's so evil, it makes your ears bleed. That's REALLY evil. Wait for it, it'll knock you flat.

dbzneon- You must have loved this chapter. Jinx/Raven all over the place. Oh, and I'm glad I could make you laugh. It's what I live for. :)

Brogramn- I have a handle on the erotic because I'm a goddamn freak. I LOVE sex. It's an addiction I swear. I'm blessed with a long term relationship with a girl who likes to please, and be pleased in return. If you haven't read 'Kinda' I Want To' yet, read it NOW. I got to be naughty in that one. :)

ChaosChampion- I can't believe I missed someone. Stupid Jake! Bad Jake! Anyway, I'm not going to go back and re-edit all the text just yet, but I'll look into getting names for the chapters put up in the database here. I'm thinking song titles, like they did in Coyboy Bebop. Only I'll actually use songs people have heard. Glad you're liking it, and I hope to hear from you again.

robinstar- THERE! ARE YOU HAPPY YET? WHAT? YOU'RE NOT?!? FUCK! What do I have to do, make Star and Robin have sex or something? FINE! Wait until the next damn chapter, and maybe there'll be some hot, hot, Robin Starfire scenes. Just for you. :)

* * *

Next Chapter: The Titans join battle with an old enemy. Jinx gets her ass handed to her, then get's it handed to her again. Raven is all better, right? Beast Boy and Cyborg get almost no screen time again, and Robin and Starfire get to know each other VERY well. Everyone is confused, and no one is thinking straight.

Then one of them dies.


	5. Chapter 5: Death

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fan-Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: I know, I know. Update. You guys don't have to tell me every review you give... sheesh. I'm a busy guy, you know? Homework is bogging me down here at the end of the semester, and I've been working tons of hours as well. Gotta pay that rent. That and YOU try writing a 9100 word chapter in a week. It aint easy. Anyway, as per request by dbzneon, a brief explination. Speedy is more like the Green Arrow the Kid Flash. I've never seen him in a comic, but he made his first apperence in Teen Titans in episode 22, called 'Winner Take All.' He packs a wide veriety of arrows that do different things, much like the explosive/freeze disks that Robin carries. The The Tournament of Heroes in that episode came down to Robin vr. Speedy, and in the end, Robin won. Speedy will be taking a more active roll in the series as he is implemented into Titans East sometime in the next few episodes, at the end of Season Three.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans. The lyrics in this chapter are from 'Lulluby' by Ben Folds Five.

Chapter 5: Death

The dark form darted out across the rooftops of Jump City with amazing agility, executing perfect flips and landings. The acrobatic nature of the moves would have made any on-looker wonder if this person had belonged to a circus at some point in his or her life.

If there was any on-lookers that is.

Not only did the figure move with skill and agility, but also with stealth and speed. Nearly invisible, and totally silent, the figure made a Navy Seal look like a clumsy ox.

As the figure landed on top of another seven story building, it rolled and came up running. Across the rooftop, the other edge of the building was highly visible, because there was no rooftop beyond it.

The next building was the first of many in downtown Jump City that reached almost fifty stories into the air. This didn't slow the sprinting figure down at all as it pulled a device from the utility belt it wore and fired a grappling hook. Feeling the line secure, the figure jumped off the edge of the building it was on and began to retract the cord.

Shooting up at a rapid velocity, the figure stuck out it's feet and began to run up the side of the sky scraper until it reached the secured point where it's grapple line had sunk in to the stone of a gargoyle on the fortieth floor. Pulling it's self up over the stone beast, it crouched and looked out over the city from behind a black mask, it's black cape with yellow trim blowing in the wind.

The storm that had been threatening to break all day finally gave it's first shout as a stroke of lightning arched through the sky, followed by the roar of thunder. In the brief seconds of illumination, the figure was revealed to be a young woman wearing black clothing, the cape, the mask, the belt, and a strange amulet around her neck. Her pink hair was swept back in a flowing spiky mess, and a grin of epic proportions adorned her face.

She sang in a soft, melodious voice, "When the Bird is away, the Witch will play..." she grinned even wider, "Beware villains of Jump City; Robin's back in town."

Raven stood in the shower in her bathroom, letting the hot water pound down on her neck and shoulders, melting away all the stress of the past few days. She could almost feel the tension pouring out of her body.

Her legs were still shaky. The 'Impulse Five Dream Maker' really lived up to it's name. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for the next day after the orgasm she'd had just fifteen minutes before. She hadn't even been able to move for five minutes before she dragged herself into the shower.

Jinx was getting a big gold star when they talked next.

Reluctantly shutting off the water, Raven stepped out of the stall and dried herself with a thought, blasting the water from her body with telekinetic power. It was a useful trick that she'd taught herself several years before to keep herself dry when they were out on missions that required them to be tromping through sewers. One never knew what one would step in down there.

Ten minutes latter, she was stepping out of her room, adjusting her cloak so it would fall shut in the middle and hide her breasts better. She didn't feel like having anyone stare at her tonight while she was on patrol.

"Ahem." Raven looked up from her primping to see Cyborg and Beast Boy standing in front of her. They looked like they'd been waiting for her to emerge.

"What can I do for the two of you?" she asked in a monotone.

"Two questions," Cyborg held up one finger, "What the hell was going on earlier, and," he held up another finger, "any idea what THIS is about?" Beast Boy held out a hand written note.

Raven arched an eyebrow and took the note. It was from Jinx.

Hey guys! I'm going out on patrol early tonight to get the feel of this new equipment. Think Robin will mind that I raided his room and barrowed some of his stuff? I figured that having another Robin in Jump City couldn't hurt, so I'm filling in for now. I'll see you guys when you get out on patrol, so just call ahead and I'll find you!

-Jinx

"It seems pretty self-explanatory to me..." Raven shrugged, "She borrowed Robin's stuff and she's out there pretending to be the Girl Wonder."

"And you're okay with that?" Cyborg demanded.

"I don't see a problem if that's what you mean." Raven shook her head, "As for earlier..." she pulled out her T-Comp and flipped it open, "Jinx, report."

"Jinx here," came the reply just seconds latter, "all quiet."

"Good. Your findings from this afternoon?"

"We're clear. The Titans are to investigate the large black pudding monster, but other than that, the guy will live, and the girl isn't in shock too bad either."

"Thanks. We'll be out shortly. Hold down the fort until then."

"Roger that. Jinx out."

Raven shut her T-Comp and turned back to the other two Titans, "When we were out shopping earlier, I ran across a rapist just finishing his dirty work," Beast Boy and Cyborg winced, "I... got carried away, and the Seed got loose. You know what that's like... what I did to Dr. Light..." she shuddered at the thought, "I don't remember any of it, but Jinx stopped me from killing him..."

"Thank God..." Cyborg smiled down at her.

"... but not before I ripped off one of his arms."

There was dead silence in the hall way for several seconds before Beast Boy spoke, "You're okay now, right?"

"Yeah." she smiled at them weakly, "I have the Seed caged again, and I've met my new aspects and figured out how to control them. Everything will get back to normal now."

"How is everything alright?" Cyborg shouted at her, "Raven, you almost KILLED someone today!" he towered over her, "If you're going to be losing control like that all the time then I don't know if you should be going out on patrol."

If Raven was in any way intimidated or cowed, she hid it well, "It's under control now. I have things I need to deal with, yes, but they can wait until Robin is back in town. I'll need to go away for a little while... maybe a month or two. Then, when I come back, everything will be fine."

"That doesn't change the fact that you're bordering on criminal behavior here, Rae." Cyborg frowned as he stopped yelling, "I'm just worried about you, you know that."

"I do. And now that the new aspects are under control-"

"New aspects?" Cyborg sounded confused.

"As my personality evolves, so do the 'other Ravens' you two met inside my mind. Sometimes, new ones pop up to fill roles the others aren't suited for."

"Who are the new ones?" Beast Boy took a step back, which Raven noted with passing interest.

"Love, Jealousy, and.... Passion." Raven blushed slightly.

"Passion?" Beast Boy asked with a grin, "Is she the one that made you screw that dude on top of the building the other night?"

Raven narrowed her eyes, "Either Jinx or Starfire has a big mouth."

"Star." Cyborg and Beast Boy said in unison.

"Great." Raven muttered, "I need to have a talk with her. While I'm doing that, you two get ready for patrol." Raven started down the hall, "Where is she, anyway?"

When nothing but silence greeted her, she turned to glance back at the two boys. She looked just in time to see Cyborg duck into his room and the door shut and lock. Beast Boy looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Beast Boy," Raven said in a low, deadly tone, "where is Starfire?"

"Um... Gotham City?"

Raven narrowed her eyes down to tiny slits that glowed with white hot light, "You told her about Robin's past with Bat Girl, didn't you?"

"Uh... yeah." Beast Boy laughed nervously, "Please don't kill me?"

Raven sighed and her shoulders slumped. So much for the stress going away. She pulled out her T-Comp again and punched in a code, "Raven to Robin. Come it, Boy Wonder." she sounded tiered.

"Robin here. What's up Raven?" the reply came just seconds after she had spoken.

"Starfire is on her way there. Be ready to receive a guest."

"She must have flown fast. She's been here for several minutes."

"Great. When is she going to be home?" Raven sighed with relief.

"She'll be coming home with me." Robin sounded firm, "I've called in additional support for you guys out there."

"Who?" Raven frowned, "If it's Wildebeest, I'm going to do bad things to you.

Robin's reply was half a laugh, "What's the matter with Wildebeest? That valentine he sent you was cute!"

"It was revolting, and it smelled like shit."

"That was _perfume,_ Raven, it smelled fine." Robin chuckled, "It's not him anyway. I called in Speedy."

"Doesn't he need to head up Titans East?" Raven was annoyed.

"Naw, Aqualad can handle it for a week. Look, I have to go. You guys just tough it out with four of you for a day or two and Speedy will be out there. Robin out." and the line went dead.

"He sounded rushed." Beast Boy commented.

"If Starfire is there, than he's probably trying to do some explaining." Raven quirked an eyebrow at him, "I'm not even going to bother kicking your ass, because Robin is going to do a thorough job of that when he gets back. Isn't it like in the guy manual that you don't tell your friends girlfriends about his ex-girlfriends?"

"Uh..." Beast Boy scratched his head.

"Never mind." Raven spun around on her heel, he cloak billowing out behind her in a dramatic fashion, "Cy! You can come out now! Let's go!"

Robin shut his T-Comp and tossed it on the bed side table in the large guest room Alfred had made up for Starfire and himself. He'd stopped by his own room to grab a set of black silk pajamas, which he had changed into while Star was in the bathroom taking a long shower. The water had stopped running several minutes before, so he assumed she was doing whatever it was girls did that took so long after a shower.

As he lounged on the bed and stared at a muted TV, Robin considered his decision to send Speedy out to Jump City. Raven hadn't sounded too happy about it, but something in his gut told him they were going to need the help soon.

He knew Raven and Speedy had never had a very good relationship; in fact they had spent a good deal of time arguing on the few occasions they'd seen each other, which had been several since Speedy had taken over leadership of Titans East in New York. Other than that little instability however, Speedy got on famously with the rest of the Titans.

As he wondered about how Jinx would take to the temporary addition to the team, the bathroom door swung open and Starfire stepped into the bed room, a towel wrapping her hair up above her head, and a white, terry cloth bath robe wrapped around her slim figure. She wore no slippers, and her toenails, he noticed, were pained pink. With a smile, he thought about how cute her feet were.

Mesmerized by her graceful movements, he watched unblinkingly as she took the towel off her head and tossed it aside, letting her still-damp hair tumble down about her shoulders. She smiled a mega-watt smile at him, and walked over to the bed, taking a place next to him and snuggling into his side.

"Sleepy?" he asked as she sighed with content.

"No, simply happy to be by your side once again."

"I'm happy you're here."

"Really?"

"Really. I've missed you." he kissed the top of her head, inhaling the sent of the expensive shampoo the manor stocked.

"Richard?"

"Yeah, Kori?"

Her hand rubbed across his belly, "Is Raven angry with me? I heard you talking to her a few minutes ago..."

"No, she's not."

"Good. I would not want her to be angry with me on this night."

"What's special about tonight?" Robin asked, expecting a lengthy explanation of some strange alien holiday.

"Tonight is simply special." she replied with a saucy grin.

Robin was about to reply, but found himself unable to do so as her hand snaked down the top of his pants.

Fireworks exploded in his brain as she gripped him, and he sprang to life almost instantly, "Star?" he sounded uncertain.

"Do you wish for me to stop?" her voice sounded disappointed.

"No!" she had started stroking, "Please, continue... I just don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into anything-"

"Richard, I have wanted to do this for some time now." she smiled at him and leaned in for a long kiss. He groaned as she moved her hand faster.

One of his hands reached out and cupped one of her breasts, massaging, and then gently squeezing one of her nipples, exacting a satisfactory moan from her.

She began to kiss her way down his chest, unbuttoning his pajama shirt as she went, until it was removed entirely. Then, with great strength, she pushed him on to his back, and tugged down on his pants.

Robin gasped and arched his back, eyes going wide as she put in to practice what she had learned from Raven the night before.

Jinx hurled herself bodily off the building she was crouched on, and fired a grappler hook that caught the sky scraper across the street. She swung down in a graceful arc, landing on top of the Jump City Museum and sliding a few feet until she stopped.

Since she had stolen several pieces from the museum herself, she knew the way in through the hatch on the roof. On a whim she had decided to check it out.

Tonight, it looked like her whim was going to pay off big time. The hatch was open, and looked as if it had been forced. She grinned and silently padded over to it, glancing down inside. Any good thief would use the same rout to get out as they had to get in, in order to minimize the number of areas the police could collect forensic evidence from, so she figured her thief would be somewhere in the vicinity of the hatch eventually.

All she had to do was wait for him to come.

She dropped though the opening, and landed as quietly as she could. Rolling across the ground, she avoided the laser beam security system perfectly, and hid behind a suit of armor.

Jinx only had to wait a few minutes for her perpetrator to show up. He came down the long, wide hall way perfectly, avoiding all the lasers and motion detectors, but strangely, not bothering to stay out of the view of the cameras. As his shadowy form darted forward and was about to jump up to grab the edge of the hatch, she rolled out from her hiding spot, avoiding the lasers once again as she lashed out with her foot, kicking the thief's feet out from under him.

He went down quickly and quietly, not even shouting in surprise. As she dove away over a beam and landed back in the shadows, she glared at her fallen opponent, her the eyes of her mask shining white from the darkness she crouched in.

"Great." the robber said as he spiraled his legs above his head, kicking up into a standing position, "Just what I need... the Boy Wonder coming around to play tag."

Jinx stood up slowly and stepped forward two feet so that she came in to the light cast by the moon, shining down through the opening of the hatch.

The robber, still standing back in the shadows, made a slight noise of surprise, "Correction. Girl Wonder. Who the heck are you, baby?"

"Name's Jinx." she threw him a cocky grin, "I'm filling in for Robin tonight."

"Great, a wannabe bird-brain." the thief took a few steps forward until he stood in the light as well, just five feet from Jinx. The black suit was skin tight, and the shredded cape flapped lightly as he walked. The mask, a half skull with a what looked like a red cross splitting one of the eyes, shown brilliantly in the moonlight. The belt he wore, so much like the one she had borrowed from Robin, was buckled shut with a 'X'. "My name is Red X," he said with a tilt of his head, "and I'll be kicking your ass tonight."

Robin lay on the king sized bed of one of the guest rooms in Wayne Manor, naked and gasping for breath. Starfire, leaning between his legs, looked up at him with a predatory smile as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then proceeded to lick her fingers.

"Not as good as mustard," she stated, "but still delicious." her tongue flicked out again, electing another sharp intake of breath from Robin, "I do not understand why Raven said she did not like the taste."

Robin groaned and sat up, "You talked about the taste of... well..." he blushed and shook his head, "With Raven?"

"She instructed me on the proper method." Starfire nodded happily.

"Raven?"

"Richard, she isn't so serious and depressed that she abstains from having sex."

Robin gaped at her, "Raven's had sex?"

She nodded, "Twice."

"Wow."

"She also told me about when you kissed her."

Robin froze. Star hadn't lost the happy look on her face, and she didn't seem to be getting ready to blast a hole in him with a starbolt, so she must not be _too_ upset by it, but girls were strange creatures. "About that... I... um..."

"It is okay, Richard. I understand why you did it."

"Oh... okay..."

"Now, would you like to have sex with me?" she smiled and crawled up on top of him, pushing him back down to the bed.

Robin was sure he'd died and gone to heaven. Apparently, in heaven, they gave you alien girlfriends who simply asked if you'd like to have sex like they would ask you to pass the butter. And they gave phenomenal blow jobs. And they were _good_ at it. Still, "I don't know if... well... I already..."

"Oh, we can get you in the mood again, Richard." Her bath robe had come loose and fallen down around her shoulders. She simply shrugged out of it, letting her breasts fall free. Lifting one of his hands, she placed it over her left breast. "Raven also told me that reciprocation is only polite."

Robin grinned up at her, "Well, I've never had instructional lectures, but I'll do my best..." he suddenly sat up and flipped her over, so he was on top. Tugging her bath robe the rest of the way open, he did the same thing she had done to him earlier, and began kissing his way down her body, lingering at the nipples a bit longer then she had.

As she gasped and moaned under him, he could feel his arousal starting again. When he finally reached her nether regions, he took a deep breath before diving in.

Starfire arched her back and cried out in pleasure.

Jinx found herself being hurled end over end into a wall.

Again.

Red X wasn't just good, he was Robin good. Maybe even Batman good. His speed was unthinkable and his execution flawless. He punched with strength and blocked with intelligence. He was strong, graceful, and smart. The perfect combatant.

Jinx knew she was pretty good herself. She'd gone a few rounds with Robin before though, and she knew she didn't stand much of a chance against Red X now. She was going to need back up.

As she pulled herself up from the ground again, Red X stalked forward, "I've had just about enough of this." he had to shout to be heard over the alarms that were blaring all around them. They'd set them off long ago when they had started fighting, not caring if they broke any of the laser beams while they were trying to avoid each other's punches.

Jinx grinned up at him, "Sorry X, I'm not throwing in the towel y-" She was cut off rather abruptly by his steel toed foot slamming into her ribs.

Jinx crashed back into the wall again, then slammed down into the floor, spitting blood as she did.

"Ow." she gasped out.

"That didn't hurt nearly as much as this is going to." Red X lifted her off the ground and pitched her at one of the eight foot tall windows that lined the front of the museum. She hit it with enough force to crash right through the shatter proof glass.

She had enough time to see she was still three floors up, and there was nothing below except pavement. She also knew that it wasn't the fall that killed you.

It was hitting the ground.

Kicking around in mid air, she pulled a grappler and fired it at the roof. She found her mark and swung herself to the ground rapidly, rolling as she hit the ground. As soon as she was upright again, she yanked out her T-Comp, "Titans! Trouble at the museum! Red X is-"

Again she was cut off, this time by his fist slamming across her face. Her T-Comp went flying and she hit the ground with a grunt.

"Time for me to go." Red X said as several police units pulled up, "I'll check ya' latter, Girl Wonder." and he was gone.

Jinx lifted her head up off the ground briefly as he fled then flopped it back down as the world went dark.

"Do you think we should catch up to Jinx sometime soon?" Cyborg asked Raven as they walked down Main Street.

"No, we'll let her play Robin for a little bit more, then we'll find her." the psion motioned up ahead of them, "Besides, do you really want to deny Beast Boy his fun?"

Cyborg had to grin at that. It was still early, and Main Street was busy this time of night with club goers, bar hoppers, and last minute shoppers. Beast Boy was taking full advantage of his fame by signing autographs and shaking hands.

"He really likes to ham it up, doesn't he?"

"Yeah." Raven lowered her hood and nudged her friend, "Hey, about yesterday, when we were training Jinx-"

"Forget about it. I didn't know about you and Robin then." she arched an eyebrow, "I never would have ribbed you about it if I had known he'd... done whatever it was he did to you."

"He kissed me if that's what you mean."

"Yeah, that."

"You've been dating Sarah for how long, and you're still embarrassed about me kissing someone? I've seen you two tongue jousting before." Raven chuckled.

"Well, I still kind of think of you like a little sister you know?" Cyborg nudged her this time, and sent her reeling a few steps.

"You're all of a month and a half older than I am, Cy, don't pull 'little sister' on me."

"Well, you _are_ smaller than I am."

"Everyone is smaller than you are. Oh." she pointed up ahead and Beast Boy, "Look at this."

The green changeling was talking to a young woman holding a baby. As they watched, she blushed and held the child out to him. Beast Boy looked confused for a moment, then leaned in and lightly pecked the child on the forehead.

The little girl immediately started wailing.

Raven sighed and gave a tiny smile, "He's hopeless."

Cybrog arched his eyebrow as she lifted off the ground and flew forward. Landing next to Beast Boy, she gave him a frown, "Can't you play nice, Beast Boy?"

"I guess baby's just don't like little green guys..." he scratched his head.

Raven rolled her eyes and turned to the young mother with a smile, "May I?" she asked as she held out her hands.

"Oh! Yes, of course!" the woman had been trying to calm the baby, but nothing she did seemed to be working. As the little girl was placed in Raven's arms, she started to quiet down. Gently, Raven rocked the child, and sent calming emotions it's way.

As Cyborg walked up with a small smile, and Beast Boy watched in fascination, Raven began to quietly sing with a smooth, light tone that sounded almost nothing like her normal voice.

_Goodnight, goodnight, sweet baby.  
The world has more for you  
than it seems.  
Goodnight, goodnight...  
let the moonlight take the lid off your dreams..._

The baby girl was silent now, and she looked up at Raven's violet eyes with a smile on her face. Raven smiled back, then leaned down, and kissed the child's cheek. The baby grabbed her face and held her, cooing.

As she rubbed her cheek against the little girl's, Raven murmured to her friends, "You should feel how good this baby feels." Pulling away from her, Raven passed the child back to her mother, "Thank you."

"Thank you!" the young woman replied with a wide smile, "You're excellent with children!"

"Well, I do live with him..." she jerked a thumb at Beast Boy.

"Hey!" the green changeling looked mildly affronted, but was still too much in awe of Raven to be truly upset.

"Have a nice night." Raven nodded to the woman as the three Titans set off down the street again. They were silent for several minutes before Beast Boy spoke.

"That was really something back there, Rae."

"Hm?" Raven looked over at him, one hand still on her cheek.

"With the baby. That was... awesome."

"I just calmed her down."

"You _sang_ to her. I didn't know you could sing! And I just assumed you hated kids like you hate everyone else!" Beast Boy grinned at her, "You're a real softie on the inside!"

"I do _not_ hate." Raven said firmly, "I simply cannot express myself as freely as you can-"

"I know, I know." Beast Boy waved her off, "I've heard it before. Doesn't change the fact that you'd make a great mother."

"Volunteering to help me with that?" Raven quirked an eyebrow.

"Wha?" Beast Boy stumbled and almost tripped, "What are you talking about?" he sounded frightened.

Raven chuckled lightly and turned to Cyborg, "Too easy."

"No doubt." he chuckled as well.

"Hey! You guys are-" Beast Boy was cut off by the beeping of their communicators.

"Titans! Trouble at the museum! Red X is-" Jinx was cut off and they heard a sharp crack that sounded suspiciously like bone snapping.

Beast Boy was already morphing into an hawk as Raven shouted, "Titans! Go!" and took flight herself. Cyborg ran after them the best he could, and they all made a b-line for the museum.

Robin traced the lines of Starfire's shoulder blades lightly as she lay next to him, naked. She giggled as his finger ran along a sensitive spot.

"You were wonderful, Richard." she sighed into the pillow she had her arms wrapped around and her face buried in.

"I had a good partner." he smiled down at her and placed light kissed down her shoulders, then back up to her neck. She rolled over and let him continue to her throat, then up to her mouth.

"We should do this again soon..." she murmured into his mouth.

"How about in the morning?" he pulled back from her and took in her perfect body with a look of awe on his face, "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, you know that Kori?"

"You flatter me." she sat up as well and wrapped her arms around him, "I love you, Richard."

"I love you too, Kori." He kissed her forehead, "Let's get some sleep now. We've both had long days, and tomorrow we have to go back to work."

"Very well." she lay back as he pulled the sheets up around them, "But I am holding you to your promise for the morning."

As he lay down and she snuggled into his side, Robin wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "I'll be dreaming about it all night. Sweet dreams Kori."

"Sweet dreams, Richard."

By the time the rest of the Titans had reached the museum, Jinx had come to and was sitting on the steps, a short ways away from a pile of broken glass. Police officers were running all over, and one was talking to her as her three friends walked up.

"What's the situation?" Raven demanded of the officer.

"She has a broken jaw. We've been trying to piece together what happened by asking yes or no questions, but the going is slow."

Raven rolled her eyes and stepped forward, "Here." she held a white glowing hand up to Jinx's jaw and winced as the healing power took hold. After a moment, Jinx moved her jaw around and smiled at her friend, "Thanks Rae."

"Don't mention it." Raven rubbed her own jaw and moved it around, "Now report."

Jinx frowned, "What's wrong with your jaw?"

"No power comes without a price." Raven stated simply, "Report, Jinx."

"Red X was stealing something here. We fought, he won." she shrugged, "He actually kicked my ass soundly."

"He's a tough one." Cybrog said, "Robin designed that suit to take down the Titans specifically, and Red X uses that to his full advantage."

"No kidding. Can Robin beat him?"

"He has before." Raven frowned, "Must I continue to remind everyone that Robin isn't here? We have to focus on a way to find Red X and get back whatever it was he stole." Turning to the officer that had been questioning Jinx, she asked, "What did he steal, anyway?"

"Um..." he looked down at some papers he held in his hand, "It says here he took a coin that dates back to ancient Mesopotamia... something called the Arcana Tertius."

Raven frowned, "Must be working for a collector."

Jinx piped up, "Or a Necromancer."

"There are no true Necromancers." Raven replied with a frown.

"Because no one has all four Arcana." Jinx pointed out.

"Is anyone else completely lost?" Beast Boy asked.

The two girls glared at him. Raven spoke first, "It's sorcery, you wouldn't understand."

"Why don't you try us." Cyborg said as he stepped up next to Beast Boy.

"I'll do it." Jinx said as she placed a hand on an agitated Raven's arm, "Try to keep up boys." she took a deep breath and began reciting,

"The four High Arcana are the Bone Staff of Evelon, also called the Arcana Primus, the Gilded Cup of Gargemesh, called the Arcana Secundus, the Coin of Haberagalan, called the Arcana Tertius, and the Ring of Mordront, called the Arcana Modus, for it is the only artifact not from the ancient times. He who holds the power of these four worthy objects, and who knows the dark words of power, will hold dominion over life and death, and rule the world of mortals with absolute authority."

"Sounds like you're quoting something."

"She is." Raven replied, "The Libris Mortis. Roughly translated from Mesopotamian it means 'From the Books of the Dead.'" She frowned, "If someone is hunting down the four High Arcana then we can bet they're a pretty nasty person. The Libris Mortis was _source material_ for the Necronomicon."

"How do you guys know about this stuff?" Beast Boy asked with a fair amount of shock evident in his voice, "I mean, this sounds like some seriously evil crap!"

Jinx blinked behind her mask, "I studied it in Black Magic 340. That's the highest level Dark Magic course available at the HIVE."

Raven shrugged, "I have a copy of both books back at the Tower."

Jinx whirled about, "No way!" she sounded excited, "You have the Libris Mortis?" Raven nodded, "You have _got_ to let me check that shit out when we get back-"

"Not on your life. I keep it so no one else can get their hands on it. If I could, I'd find the other four copies and hold them as well."

"Why don't you just burn it?" Cybrog asked.

"You can't." Raven shook her head, "It's magically protected."

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Beast Boy asked.

"We have to find the other three Arcana before Red X does." Jinx replied.

"No need. I already know where he's going next." Raven turned North and looked off into the distance, "There's a collector who lives just up the coast at Morro Bay. He has the Cup of Gargemesh."

"We'll take the T-Copter." Cyborg said, "Can I get a lift back to the Tower, BB?"

"Sure..." he walked over to his metallic friend, but paused before he transformed. Turning back he looked at the two girls, "Um... Raven? What did it mean 'power over life and death?'"

Raven, her hood pulled up and her eyes glowing from inside of it replied, "It means whoever has all four Arcana and knows the proper words of power can raise the dead." Lighting arched across the sky, and thunder rolled, "Let's get moving." she said as she turned away and wrapped her arms around Jinx's waist to fly her back to the Tower with them, "I just felt a drop of rain."

"Excuse me, young man?" the flight attendant leaned down to the blond haired youth in question, "Is there anything you need?"

He looked up and opened his eyes, smiling as he did, "No thanks, I'm fine."

"Okay. Just call if you need anything." she smiled back and walked to the next passenger.

Speedy stared at her backside as she bent over to talk to man in the next row up.

"I love long flights..." he muttered as he settled back into his chair. He had booked the flight not two minutes after Robin had called, and it had taken off only a few hours latter. Once in Jump City, he knew he wouldn't get much rest, so he had to take what little he could get now.

Closing his eyes, Speedy tried to fall asleep.

Twenty minutes after they left the museum, the Titans arrived back at the Tower, soaked to the bone. The storm had broken while they were on their way back and none of them had been spared it's wrath. Raven had given them five minutes to get changed.

As she stepped out of her room, dry uniform in place and hair freshly blown dry, Raven glanced down the hall at Jinx, who was emerging from her own room. The pink haired sorceress had changed completely into one of Robin's uniforms instead of just his cape and mask. Raven quirked an eyebrow at her, "Still pretending to be Robin?"

"He's got all sorts of useful stuff in his gloves and boots." she scratched her shoulder, "It's really itchy."

Raven raised her other eyebrow, "An aluminum/fiberglass weave will do that. You ready?"

"Yeah." Jinx lowered her hand and walked a few steps forward, "Um, Raven?"

"Yeah?" Raven paused as she turned to walk down the hallway and looked back.

"Do you think we can beat him?"

"What do you mean?"

Jinx shuffled her feet, "He beat me, Raven. Badly. I've never been beaten like that before." she looked up, and the eyes of her mask narrowed, "I can go a few rounds with Robin. Red X kicked me around like I was an amateur."

"We haven't seen much of him in the past few years. It's possible he's gotten much better." Raven smiled a reassuring smile, "But so have we. Play to your strength's Jinx. Don't be afraid to use your powers."

Jinx walked forward and poked Raven in the shoulder, "And you be careful when you use yours. Keep your cool and all that." she frowned in a concerned sort of way and continued quietly, "I don't want to be stopping massive blood loss again."

"I've got it under control now." Raven smiled widely, "Oh, and the vibrator? Works _great_."

Raven hopped into the front seat of the T-Copter as Jinx piled into the back next to Beast Boy. Cybrog was flipping switches and getting the blades moving.

"Are you sure we can fly through this storm?" Raven asked, "It's pretty nasty out there."

"I can do it." Cyborg sounded confident.

"Alright, if you say so." Raven shrugged.

In the back seat, Beast Boy was pestering Jinx, "You're sure you aren't hurt very badly? I noticed you favoring your right side-"

"I took a shot to the ribs. Nothing I can't ignore." Jinx shrugged, "I'll be fine BB. Don't worry so much about me."

"Well, you know... friends with benefits and all that..."

"Don't want to loose your fuck buddy?" Raven called from the front as she adjusted her headset.

Beast Boy stuck out his tongue at her as he put his own headset on, "You're just jealous because I have one who's NAME I know."

"You can just drop that one right there." Raven replied with glowing black eyes.

"Right, right. You'll swallow my soul and all that." Beast Boy waved her off, "You know, if you're really that horny, I'm sure we can find some way more constructive than boffing random guys for you to take care of it?"

Raven leaned into the back seat and got right in Beast Boy's face. She lowered her eyelids to give him a smoky stare, "Like a vibrator that leaves your legs weak from the intensity of the orgasm?"

"Uh..." Beast Boy's eyes seemed to be pried from hers to stare down at her breasts, "Can I just..." his hand started to creep up.

Raven grinned, "No."

Suddenly, Beast Boy found himself jerking back form her, "What the hell did you do to me?" he shouted.

"I just recently discovered that I can project emotion as well as sense it. It's a good way to get what you want." She settled back in her seat, "We ready to go, Cy?"

"Yeah. Try not to get BB to horny on the way there... I don't need him and Jinx doing anything nasty in the back of my chopper."

"Shut up dude." Beast Boy slugged the back of his seat.

Jinx looked miffed, "Nothing nasty, huh?" she grabbed Beast Boy and pulled him over to her, "Like this you mean?" and she attempted to find his tonsils with her tongue.

"Hey!" Cyborg shouted as he lifted off, "You kids cut that out, or so help me I'll turn this helicopter right around!"

Raven rolled her eyes, "Why do I put up with this?" she asked her reflection in the window.

They arrived in Morro Bay just after 11:00pm. Cyborg managed to set the T-Copter down on a basketball court that sat behind the upscale apartment building the collector they were looking for lived in, and they all jumped out into the light drizzle that the storm had become.

Raven was all business as soon as their feet hit the ground, "Beast Boy, take Jinx up and check out the penthouse. That's where he lives." she turned to Cyborg, "Cy, I need you to head up through the building, looking for any signs of Red-X."

"Where are you going to be?" he asked.

"I'm going to do a sweep of the outside of the building, looking for any access points he may have used. We don't know if he's here, been here and gone already, or if he's still on his way, so everyone be careful." she nodded around at her team, "Titans, go."

They all broke up, Raven taking off to search the outside of the building, Cybrog running for the doors, and Beast Boy morphing into a pterodactyl to bring Jinx up to the top floor.

Raven circled the building slowly, taking note of any possible entrance points. There were at least fifty that she could see upon initial inspection, and she knew Red-X would see fifty more in the same search. She had to go with what she knew though, so she contacted Cyborg, "Cyborg, check the third floor laundry room. The hatch to the ventilation system there looks pretty loose."

"On my way, Rae." came his reply.

She glanced up at the penthouse above, hoping Beast Boy and Jinx weren't running into anything they couldn't handle.

Beast Boy dropped to the patio outside the sliding glass doors that led into the penthouse next to Jinx after he dropped her off and transformed back into himself. "Quiet now." he whispered. Jinx nodded and they moved forward silently. She tried the door, and found it was unlocked.

"Not too many people would bother locking a door twenty stories up, huh?" she whispered to Beast Boy.

"Nope. Wanna check it out?"

"I'll go in. If he's there, I'll send a signal."

"Right." Beast Boy nodded and braced to run if he needed to.

Jinx opened the door just wide enough for her to slip in, and began to look around. It only took her fifteen seconds to locate the Cup of Gargemesh. It was sitting on the mantle above the electric fireplace, prominetly displayed. It was probobly the collectors prize piece.

"Didn't take you long to figure out where I'd be next did it?" Jinx spun around and threw up her arm just in time to block the punch Red-X had aimed for her head. She flipped back into a back-hand-spring and took up a fighting stance.

"You're in over your head this time, X." she grinned as he came at her again, dodging his punches and kicks, "You'll have to do better than that!"

"Oh yeah?" he chuckled as he kicked a standing light over, clonking her soundly in the head. She stumbled back and grinned at him.

The green mountain goat he hadn't seen behind him blasted him across the room and into the sliding door with a mighty charge. "Yeah!" Jinx shouted and jumped across the room in a flying kick.

She smashed Red-X through the glass, sending him skittering across the patio. He quickly kicked his feet back over his head and landed on his feet, up and ready for her as she came in again.

As the two of them began to fight in earnest, Beast Boy flipped open his T-Comp, "Raven! Cyborg! Up top, now!" shoving it back into it's pouch on his belt, Beast Boy morphed into a tiger and charged out to the patio.

What he saw almost stopped his heart. Jinx was grappling with Red-X for a moment, then he broke her grip and slugged her firmly across he jaw. She flew back a few feet and hit the railing, which cracked and crumbled behind her. Pin-wheeling her arms, she briefly regained her balance, only to have Red-X dart forward and kick her in the gut, blasting her back off the balcony.

With a roar Beast Boy pounced on Red-X, who rolled with him and kicked the green tiger over his head, slamming him into the wall of the building. Beast Boy regained his footing in time for Red-X to wrap him in a tight red binding.

"Hey!" Beast Boy yelled as he became himself again, "No fair!"

"Sorry about your girlfriend kid." Red-X walked past him, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a cup to steal."

He stepped through the broken glass door and into the penthouse, only to find himself face to face with Cyborg.

"Looking for this?" the robotic Titan asked as he held up the Cup with his left hand. His right was already in it's sonic cannon form, and Cyborg proceeded to put it to good use.

Beast Boy watched as Red-X flew back out of the penthouse, blasted along by a beam of blue energy. "Way to go Cy!" he shouted as Red-X flew over the edge of the balcony.

Jinx was sure she'd had it this time. As she fumbled for a grappler, she felt strong arms grab her.

"I've got you." Raven said as she floated in mid-air, twenty feet away from the building and ten floors down from the top, "We need to get back up and help Beast-"

Red-X flew off the top of the building, propelled by the beam from Cyborgs sonic cannon.

"...Boy..." Raven watched the thief falling, "You going to grapple him or what?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Hold on." Jinx took a half a second to aim the grappler gun before she fired it and wrapped it around his ankle. She swung him down, smashing him head long into the back board of one of the hoops on the basketball court ten floors below them. Jinx looked up at Raven and grinned, "Oops."

Raven rolled her eyes as she decended to the the court, only to find Red-X picking himself up off the ground. His suit was crackling with red electricity, and he couldn't seem to make the cloaking device work.

"Damn." he looked up at the two young woman before him, "Looks like we have to do this the hard way." he held his hands up and two blades formed on his wrists in the shape of large X's.

Raven backed up a few steps, but Jinx took one forward. "I've got this one." she said as she pulled Robin's bo-staff from behind her and extended it.

"Careful Jinx. Those things he's got are sharp..." Raven back up and pulled out her T-Comp, "Cyborg, Beast Boy... a little help would be nice."

"We'll be down as soon as I get this stuff off BB." Cyborg replied, "He must have found a way to make it stronger... I'm gonna have to cut it off."

"Whatever! Just hurry up!" Raven snapped the communicator shut as Jinx and Red-X came together.

It was a fascinating dance of whirling blades and spinning staff. Jinx obviously had training with her weapon, and she used it's longer reach to her full advantage. Red-X wasn't letting up though, and kept her on the defensive.

"You know, you could just let me go." he said as he jabbed at her midsection.

Jinx blocked the strike easily, "Or you could give up and we could take you in." she suggested.

"Not on your life." Red-X threw a strong punch, and Jinx barely got the staff around in time. The razor sharp blades sliced right through the metal of the staff, and Jinx was suddenly left with two long sticks.

She stepped back and spun them around a few times, then held them out in front of her again in an escrima fighting stance.

"Come on..." Red-X sounded exasperated, "Just give it up, girl."

"Give this up, you skull faced bastard." Jinx pounced forward and he jumped back. Before he hit the ground, she slammed the pavement of the basketball court with both sticks, sending a wave of pink energy along with the strike. The ground buckled where Red-X was landing and he found himself falling flat on his back.

Jinx was on him in a second, pinning his hands to his sides with her knees and crossing her sticks over his throat, "Give up!" she shouted in his face, "You're beaten!"

"I don't think so." he chuckled as the defense system in his suit activated, blasting 5,000 volts of electricity through Jinx, blowing her back off on him and into the corner of the basketball court. She lay on the ground, twitching as her nervous system shut down briefly.

"Too bad Robin didn't make this thing with any lethal toys..." he said as she stood up.

Raven's kick flattened him again. "Get up." she said calmly as she floated around him, "Get up and face me."

"If that's really what you want..." Red-X kicked up and came at her with lightning speed. Raven dodged to the side, then put up a black force-field to block his next punch. The razor edged blades sliced the air around her, but she dodged with such speed and skill that he couldn't seem to land a hit.

"Hold still!" he shouted in frustration as she dodged yet another strike meant to take her head off.

"Right. Let me think about that one for a second..." Raven ducked again and blasted him back with a wave of black energy, "No."

Red-X rolled back in and threw a heavy right directly at her face. Raven moved her head to one side and grabbed his arm as it flew past her head. He leaned in close to her and spoke in a low tone, "You were great the other night by the way."

"What are you talking about?" she grabbed his other wrist to keep him from punching holes in her while she held him.

"On the rooftop... after I swiped that bitches purse." What little color there was in Raven's face drained out, and her grip on him slackened for just a moment. It was all he needed to yank his left wrist out of her grasp and take a swipe at her face again.

Raven stumbled back out of the way, but felt a searing pain across her cheek. She was aware of the blood splattering down her cloak from the gash there as they began to circle again. "You lie."

"Like hell I do." he laughed, "Let's see if you know what you're doing downstairs..."

Raven's eyes burned red suddenly, "You LIE!" she screamed and the ground around him exploded.

Red-X was hurled back into the chain link fence that surrounded the basketball court, and bounced off of it with a grunt. He managed to somehow land on his feet and dodge the next blast that blew a chunk out of the pavement.

"Holy shit!" he shouted as he continued to dodge. Red-X found himself in a very bad situation suddenly. She was learning his movements, and he could only keep one step ahead of her for so long before one of those blasts tore him apart.

Jinx slowly picked her head up off the ground as another explosion rocked the court. "Raven?" she murmured as her eyes focused on her friend. Red glowing eyes burned from within the depths of the psion's hood, and Jinx knew that the Seed was taking over her again, "Oh no." she whispered as she jumped to her feet, "Raven!" she screamed, "I'm okay! Calm down!" Raven didn't seem to hear her as she tried to blow Red-X apart once again.

Jinx growled and charged at her friend.

Red-X seemed to have the same idea. He lengthened the blade on his right wrist and charge at Raven, dodging blasts as he went. Jinx saw him and pulled out a bird-a-rang from her utility belt. Throwing it in a perfect arch, she deflected his strike just before he plunged the blade into Raven's chest.

"Raven!" Jinx grabbed her friend by the shoulders and shook her, "Look at me! I'm here!"

"Get out of the way! We have to kill her!" Red-X shouted as he attempted to stab Raven again.

"No! She'll come out of it! Just go! Get out of here!" Raven's eyes cleared and became normal again just as Jinx was hauling back a fist to hit her.

"Jinx?" she asked, still slightly dazed.

"Raven, I-" Jinx saw Red-X coming in again, too close to block his strike.

She did the only thing she could. Spinning Raven around, she took the hit.

More blood splattered Raven's cloak, this time from the blade that protruded from Jinx's side. The pink haired girl gasped as her face contorted in pain, "Raven..." she whispered, then went limp in the psion's arms.

Red-X yanked his blade back and it fell from his arm. He took several steps back, clearly horrified at what he'd just done. "I didn't... she got in the way... I was trying to stop YOU..." he looked over his shoulder as Beast Boy and Cyborg came charging up the path to the basketball court. "Fuck." he swore and ran to the fence. Jumping it in one leap, he hit the other side and sprinted off into the rainy night.

"Jinx?" Raven lay her friend on the ground, shocked by the amount of blood pouring from the wound, "Jinx? Talk to me Jinx... JINX!" she felt for a pulse, but didn't find one, "Oh God... Jinx! Come on..." Raven tilted her friends head back and began to give her CPR.

Beast Boy stood by and watched as Cyborg checked his sensors. The robotic Titan shook his head and bent down. Lifting Raven away from Jinx, he spoke in a low, grim voice, choked with tears, "Let it be, Rae... she's gone."

"No!" Raven struggled in his grasp, tears streaming down her own face, "She's not! She still has brain activity! I can sense it!"

"Raven! Come on!" Cyborg pulled harder, "She's dead, Raven!"

"No she's NOT!" Raven screamed and blew both of the boys away from her with a wave of black energy, "I can still save her." she whispered and fell to her knees next to their fallen friend. Holding out her hands, she gathered all the power she could, "Live, Jinx."

Beast Boy groaned as he sat up off the ground and looked around. "Raven!" he shouted as he ran over. The gruesome sight that met him was one that would stay etched in his mind forever.

Raven knelt next to Jinx, pouring healing energies into the pink haired girl. As she did, a large dark stain slowly spread across her side, soaking through her leotard and dripping to the ground in large red droplets. Tears streamed down Raven's face as she healed her friend.

He couldn't do anything except stare. After a full minute, Raven finally lowered her hands to her sides and slumped down. There was a beat of silence in which the only sound was the falling rain, then Jinx shot up into a sitting position, gasping for breath. She breathed heavily for a moment, then felt down by her side. Her hand came away red, but as she tore open her uniform, she couldn't find any wounds.

"What the hell?" she looked over at Raven, who was smiling weakly at her.

"You're alive. Good." Raven nodded.

"Raven....?" Jinx's eyes grew wide, "What did you do? Did you heal me?"

"Yeah... you'll be fine now." Raven swayed a little.

"What did you do to yourself?!? Raven?"

"All power... has... a price." Raven's smile faded, and she slumped over to the ground.

Time seemed to speed up again for Beast Boy and he lurched forward and ran to his friend.

Jinx began to franticaly search for the cause of Raven's collapse, "No," she whispered, "not for me... not for me, Raven..." the psion wasn't breathing.

"RAVEN!"

Closing Notes: I can't wait to hear all the speculation on this one. :) For those of you who don't know already, I've set up a LiveJournal account, and would be more than happy to start a thread for discustion about just what the hell you think I'm doing with this story. Who knows? Maybe I'll use some of your 

I use it largely for updates on the progress of the story, and to keep people informed about what I'm doing with the story. Go ahead! Give it a read!

Reviewer Response!

BeautyOfTheRose- Not on your life. Speedy kicks rocks. :)

Heaven's Angel- Guilty as charged. Sick SOB or not though, you're addicted and can't wait for the next chapter already. Right? :)

dbzneon- Hope this chapter was up to snuff. I try, I really do. Stay tuned for Raven/Jinx goodness. More Alfred moments you say? Well okay! I LOVE writing Alfred Pennyworth. The man's a riot.

StarryRavenFire- Look for tons of Robin and Starfire in the coming chapter. I kind of screwed them out of screen time in this chapter by just making them have sex. But hey, who the hell is complaning about that?

Stolen Valkyrie- I think you've review every story I've put up now. That's cool. Speedy does indeed, rock socks. How could I NOT put him in? Look for him to take an active roll in a few chapters. Oh, and overanalyze away! You might be closer to the truth than you think...

Brogramn- Reviewed that one-shot you were talking about. Good stuff, yo. Hope the sex in this chapter was enough for you... as I've stated before, I'm just not very good at writing it. Well, you win some, you loose some... KPAAF bro.

Greg867- If that e-mail of yours is back up and working, and you have any questions, drop me a line. Thanks for the review!

kyoraven- Actually reviewed after Chapter One, but hey, who's counting. WTF this is long as shit! Yeah, I hate short little 500 word updates. That shit bothers me. I update with nice long ones to keep people tided over until the next one comes out. I have well defined cut off points for all my chapters, and if it takes 10,000 words to get to that point, than that's what it takes. Sorry that it cuts into your mastrabation time... but there was sex in this chapter! You get off to that shit, right?

Kit Spooner- Thanks for taking on the edits of Sonata for me. I just don't have the time. Also, sorry for STILL not defining any kind of relationship for Jinx, Raven, and Beast Boy, but that'll come. Trust me. :)

robinstar- I kept you in mind while I wrote the sex in this chapter. Hope it was enough to stave off your hunger, because now they have to go back to work. Well, maybe they'll get down on a roof top somewhere... that's becomeing a prevelent theam in this story... :)

CHEENAMIDanny- I've found a couple of stories with a horny Starfire in them now. I like them best. I always figured Star for a freak. I mean, the girl drinks mustard for crying out loud! How could she not like the taste of jizz? Anyway, thanks for the review, and I hope to hear from you again!

dbzneon (again)- Fine! Updated! Now leave me alone! sniff

ChaosChampion- Close, but sorry, no cookie for you. Jinx ALMOST died, but I kaked Raven in the end. Really. I did. Grin

Next Chapter- 'Rebirth'. Grief leads to discovery, discovery leads to action, and action leads to life. Robin and Starfire hit the streets of Gotham to hunt down a clown with an attitude, Speedy walks into a madhouse, more Cyborg and Sarah fluff, and I FINALLY clear up all that Jinx/Raven/Beast Boy confusion. Sort of. Oh, and Beast Boy get's laid.


	6. Chapter 6: Rebirth

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fanfiction by Jake McDonald

Opening Notes: Long time coming, but here it is. Those of you that visit my Livejorunal know what I've been up to. Those of you that don't... um... don't. Any way, I just finished my final project for the semester, so class should be out of the way until after Christmas. Yay. More time to write means more updates. Woot!

This chapter seemed kind of... rushed to me. Like I was trying to say too much all at once. Maybe I'm just too critical of myself, but I like to turn out a good product. The story really starts picking up here, so be careful... it might suck you into a black hole of plot development! Many things are resolved, but once again, expect a few bomb shells.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans like I don't own any food. So... hungry...

* * *

Chapter 6: Rebirth

* * *

Raven lay on the hard, cold pavement of a basketball court, dark rain drops falling from a black sky. The area that surrounded the court was dominated by shadowy buildings, a never ending cityscape of cold steel and cracked cement.

No one watched over her. No one was there to stay with her.

She was dying, and she knew it.

Blood pooled about her body, mingling with the rain drops that fell from the endless void that was the sky. The low hum of power lines played a base tone to her ragged breathing. Face down in a puddle of water and blood, she stared off to the side, seeing nothing but her own bitter defeat.

She was beaten and dying, and in this, her darkest hour, her friends had left her. Abandoned, she felt the sorrow crashing down on her. She deserved their scorn, deserved to be deserted.

She deserved to die.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered to the blackness, "I let you live, only to leave you... I'm sorry... Jinx... I'm sorry..."

* * *

The medical room of Titan Tower was illuminated only by the few flickering lights of the equipment, and the occasional flash of lightning on the horizon. There was no beeping from the heart monitor, because there was no heart beat from the figure laying on the bed. Raven was dead.

Jinx sat in a chair next to the bed, the remnants of Robin's uniform hanging off of her in tatters, the mask long ago removed and placed on the table next to the bed. She was leaned forward, her head pressed down into Raven's shoulder. Her breathing was regular, indicating that she was asleep.

The door sliding open was enough noise to startle her awake. Sitting up, she turned to see Cyborg silhouetted in the doorframe, the light behind him throwing his face into shadow.

"Come on, Jinx. It's been two hours. You need some sleep, and sitting here staring at her isn't going to made you feel any better."

"Don't you even care?" she asked in a bitter tone.

"Of course I do." he was speaking quietly, something she'd never heard before. It scared her. "It's just... I remember what she always used to say... people come, and people go. It's pointless to get all worked up about it. We'll mourn her once we've stopped whatever psychopath is trying to create an army of zombies."

"Right... because we're hero's."

"Right." Cybrog leaned against the doorframe, "Being a hero sucks sometimes."

"I'll come out in a minute. I just want... to spend a bit more time with her."

"Okay... I'm taking off... I have some things to do before I have to call Robin and tell him... God... I don't know how I'm going to be able to get through it..."

"You'll find the strength. You always do." Jinx smiled at him.

"Thanks, Jinx." he nodded at her with a sad smile of his own, "Go see BB when you come out... he's... taking this really hard."

She nodded and he turned and walked off down the hallway, the door sliding shut behind him. Turning back to Raven's still form, Jinx placed a hand over her friends forehead, "Raven, you idiot... couldn't you have just healed me part way or something?"

_Jinx... I'm sorry..._

Jinx jerked her hand back as her eyes grew wide as dinner plates. All of her arcane knowledge began to pour through her mind, looking for possible explanations to why she had just heard Raven speaking to her.

Raven had mentioned that Beast Boy and Cyborg had helped her defeat the Seed by entering her mind. That meant she had a personality matrix that she used for meditation and reflection. That meant that she could still be inside her own mind, trapped there by thinking she was dead.

"You're not dead... you're not... dead... Raven..." she stumbled back from the body of her friend, "Beast Boy!" she screamed as she turned and ran out of the room.

* * *

Beat Boy looked up as the door to his room slid open and Jinx came pelting in. He stared at her through tear stained eyes and she stared back at him with wide ones.

"Jinx... what's wrong?" he asked, his voice think from crying for so long.

"Raven... she's not dead."

"What?" he shook his head, "Jinx... she's not breathing her heart isn't beating, Cy's scans showed no brain activity, and even if there wasn't an actual wound, she lost way too much blood to still be alive." he glared at her, "She's dead, Jinx."

"No... yes... well, she is, but she's not."

"What are you going on about?" he yelled at her, furry blazing behind his eyes. His whole body began to shake, "She died to save you! Can't you just let go of it?"

"No, Beast Boy, just listen-"

"Don't fuck with me, Jinx! I'm so not in the mood for your shit!"

"Beast Boy, shut the fuck up and listen to me!" she screamed back. He was shocked into silence, so she continued in a calmer voice, "I was just in the medical room with her and when I touched her, I heard her talking to me. She said she was sorry. I felt... remorse... guilt... great sadness. Her mind is still there... just not her body. It's all shut down. The only thing keeping her mind where it is must be her power." she held up a hand to cut off his reply, and continued, "Don't ask me how or why, but I think her mind has retreated back into it's own personality matrix. She's punishing herself for something."

"Her personality matrix is where she keeps the other Raven's right?"

"Right. How did you get in the first time?" Jinx sounded eager.

Beast Boy jumped up, "Her mirror. It's in her room."

"Must be a Seeing Mirror. They're used for meditation and soul searching." Jinx snapped her fingers, "If her metaphysical mind is still active, we should be able to get in that way."

"Only one way to find out." Beast Boy strode across the room and stopped in front of Jinx, "You are quickly becoming my favorite person."

She grinned and planted a quick kiss on his lips, "Let's go save our friend."

"Yeah." Beast Boy nodded, and together, they set off for Raven's room.

* * *

Cyborg stood and stared at the apartment door for several minutes before raising a hand and knocking loudly. Several minutes later there was a thump as someone fell against the door, presumably to look out through the peep hole to see who was on the other side.

The sound of a two locks clicking opened followed, and the door was finally thrown open. A rather grumpy and disgruntled looking Sarah stood on the threshold wearing a pink tank top and gray sleep shorts. "It's 3:30 in the morning Cy."

"I know."

"What is so important that you need to come wake me up at 3:30 in the morning?"

He stared down at her for a full minute, his face deadly serious, before replying, "Raven was killed tonight."

All the color drained out of Sarah's face, and the sleep fled her eyes, "Oh God... Baby... come in." she grabbed his arm and dragged him forward, into the apartment. Guiding him over to her lone sofa, she sat him down and stood in front of him, now eye level. "How... who... what happened, Cy?"

"Red X. I guess he was trying to stop her from leveling Morro Bay after she kinda' went berserk. She snapped out of it just in time, but X was already coming at her again... Jinx took the hit for her, but Raven wouldn't have any of that. She healed Jinx, but... her healing powers have a back lash effect. They hurt her, or at least make her feel the pain the other person is suffering." he shook his head with a sigh, "It must have just been too much. Her heart stopped, and she died."

Sarah had covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes had grown wider and wider with horror as he had relayed his story. Now she dove forward and wrapped him in a hug. "I'm sure you did everything you could..."

"I couldn't revive her... I tried... she was just... gone." A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Damn it all, she's gone!" he slammed a fist into the coffee table and it exploded into cheep plywood splinters.

Sarah didn't seem to notice. She just wrapped her arms around him tighter and began to cry. "It'll be okay Baby... calm down."

"I know... she died... happy anyway. Helping someone." he finally hugged his girlfriend back, "Like she would have wanted."

"Like any of you would have wanted." Sarah crawled into his lap and he held her tightly.

"I still feel like shit." he said after a few moments.

"Yeah. Me too." She shook her head, "It's not easy to get over, but you have a job to do... you can't just give up the fight. She would never forgive you if you did."

"I know... just... right now, this is all I want." he squeezed her.

"Okay, Hunny. Okay." and she kissed him.

* * *

"Found it." Beast Boy picked up Raven's seeing mirror and inspected it, "All I'm getting is a reflection though."

"The connection is probably closed." Jinx walked over from where she was inspecting Raven's books.

"Can we re-open it?"

"I don't know. Let me see it." Beast Boy handed over the mirror and she searched it for any inscriptions. "Hmm... nothing written on it. Maybe she has a book that could... wait..." She walked over to the podium in the corner that currently held a spell book opened to the heading, 'Acne Removal Charm.' "Clear skin and perfect teeth, huh Raven?" she mumbled as she removed the book and placed the mirror on the podium.

"Dude!" Beast Boy was flipping through the book she had moved, "This thing has a spell for making your boobs bigger!"

"Don't even try to get me to use that on myself." Jinx gave him a scathing look, and he laughed nervously. "Now get over here and stand next to me. I don't know if this is going to work, but if it does, it'll be fast."

Beast Boy took up position. "Ready."

"Okay." Jinx turned to the mirror and shouted out, _"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"_

The mirror lit up with black light and shot out tendrils of energy that pulled the two of them into the surface.

As soon as it had started the mirror stopped and was nothing but a mirror once again.

* * *

Beast Boy and Jinx found themselves in a twisted cityscape, full of broken buildings and cracked sidewalks. A basketball court sat next to them, and the sky was simply and endless black void. A light, cold rain fell from the cloudless sky, and no sound other than the pattering of the falling water could be heard.

"Look there." Jinx pointed to the other side of the fence, and Beast Boy looked. There, Raven lay in a puddle of her own blood, curled up in a ball with her face pressed into the cold cement of the basketball court.

"It wasn't like this before." Beast Boy said as they walked around the court, trying to find an opening, "It was blasted rocky plains, and there were creepy birds, and the other Raven's all running around..."

"This is her perception of death," Jinx explained, "she's trapped herself in her own mind, forever dying, never actually dead."

"Why?"

"She regrets doing what she did. Losing control and putting me in a situation where I had to give my life for hers. She's punishing herself for it."

"How do you know all of this?" he looked at her with concern on his face.

"I just... do. Like she told me... but not." she shook her head, "That's not it... like I know what she's feeling."

"She could be projecting emotions into you, like she did when she made me want to comp a feel back in the T-Copter." He blushed lightly.

"It's possible." Jinx sighed as they reached the point they had started at, "There's no way in."

Beast Boy frowned, then transformed. Jinx stood back, slightly shocked to see a huge green elephant standing next to her all of a sudden. Beast Boy jabbed his tusks though the fence, tore a huge section of it off, and tossed it aside.

Becoming himself again, he dusted off his hands, "So we make a way in."

"I guess..." Jinx arched an eyebrow and pulled her cape around her closer as they started to walk over to Raven, "It's cold here."

"You'd be warmer if you were wearing something more than half of Robin's uniform."

"Sorry, I didn't think to change before we came to save Raven's life."

They stopped next to the still form of their friend and Jinx knelt down, "Hey, Raven... we're here."

Raven pulled her face up off the wet pavement, "Jinx... I thought you'd left me..." she sounded weak and tiered, "I'm dying Jinx... gonna die soon..."

"No, you're not Raven. You healed me... that doesn't actually hurt you. You just think it did. Now snap out of it." she poked Raven in the shoulder.

"Dying..." Raven placed her head back on the ground, "Let you guys down... couldn't stay... alive."

"Raven," Beast Boy knelt on the other side of her and her half closed eyes drifted over to him, "Come one Rae... get up for me?"

"Beast Boy... you're a good guy, you know that?" He froze, not knowing what was going on, "You... you'll take care of Jinx, right?"

"Of course I will, but you'll be there to help. Just sit up and we'll all go home together."

"Jinx..." Raven reached out one blood stained hand and placed it on the side of Jinx's face. The pink haired girl cried silent tears as Raven stroked her cheek, "I'm sorry, Jinx. So, so... sorry." Tears sprang to Raven's eyes as well, "I left you... couldn't fight it..."

"You _saved_ me Raven... don't die... just get up now..."

"Loved you..." Raven said as she dropped her hand, "All of you..."

"We know, Rae," Jinx grabbed the fallen hand, "and we love you too. Don't leave us... come on home."

"Home..." Raven closed her eyes and swallowed, "Wanted to tell you... how I feel..."

It was Jinx's turn to freeze and stare at Raven, "How do you feel?"

"Love you... but it couldn't work..."

"Raven." Jinx's tears fell freely, and her hand shot out and grabbed Beast Boy's, "I love you too. We'll make it work... just... don't die on us..."

Suddenly, Raven's eyes shot open and she sat up, looking around at them wildly. Both Jinx and Beast Boy were shocked by the sudden action, and even more shocked when Raven burst into tears. She lunged forward and buried her face in Jinx's chest, "I'm sorry!" she wailed, "Sorry I ever dragged you into this, sorry I made you worry, sorry the rest of the Titans had to loose me... I'm sorry!"

Jinx shushed her as a smile spread across her face, "It's okay, Raven. You're forgiven of everything."

"Yeah..." Beast Boy crawled forward and wrapped them both in a strong, protecting hug, "We all love you, Raven... I love you."

"So do I. I love you, Raven."

"Love..." Raven pulled away from them, and smiled through her tears, "They're coming back now."

"Wha-" Beast Boy stopped himself as the ground around them suddenly became the blasted plains of Azarath, and the rain stopped falling. The Hellish eternal twilight replaced the darkness of the sky, and the sent of blood and rain vanished.

As the three of them stood up, Raven's aspects started to appear, one by one. "Raven..." Beast Boy looked around at them as he turned in a circle, "What's going on?"

Raven replied in a voice most unlike her own. It was full of emotion, and kindness, "Right now, I'm unfettered by the limitations of my powers. I don't have any."

"So... you can feel?"

"Yes. But once I re-absorb my aspects, I'll have it back, and I'll go back to being just like I was."

"So... if you left right now, you could be normal." Jinx nodded, "You have an out. You don't have to be a super hero any more. You can quit."

"No... not if I want to stay with the people I love." Raven took a step forward and pulled them both back into her. "You two can be happy together... I know you can."

"But... Raven..." Beast Boy pulled away and looked at the two young woman, "You two... you're perfect together."

"No." Raven shook her head, "It'd be okay for a fling, or for sex," she smiled as Beast Boy reddened, "but I feel like I've known Jinx all my life." she turned and hugged her friend, "You're my sister, Jinx. I love you like one."

"So no chances for a relationship then?" Jinx smiled sadly.

"Sorry... maybe just... friends with benefits."

"Hey," Beast Boy interjected with a smile, "She's MY friend with benefits."

"Sure, dash my hopes like that..." Jinx stuck her tongue out at him, and then turned and smiled at Raven, "Can I kiss you?"

"Sure." Raven smiled back and the two of them shared a slow, tender kiss.

"Dude, I am _so_ glad I came here now." Beast Boy was grinning like an idiot.

"Shut it, BB." Raven pulled away from Jinx and walked to the center of the ring her aspects had made. "I have to do it now," she glared over at the red clad Raven with four glowing eyes, "the Seed is impatient and wants a body again."

"Wait..." Beast Boy shook his head, "You're going to take that monster back?"

"I kind of have to." Raven smiled at him, "You never did understand it did you?"

"Not really." he scratched the back of his head.

"It's an all or nothing kind of deal." she supplied, "If I don't take the Seed, I don't get my power, and it looks for a new host." a grim look descended on her features, "I'd just prefer it be trapped in me, where I know I can cage it."

Raven lifted an arm and a large red portal appeared, "That's the way home."

"Okay... we'll come wake you up as soon as we get back."

"I'll see you there then." Raven nodded as her aspects started circling her in an ever tightening circle. As they touched her body, they vanished as one, leaving Raven standing where she was, her cloak and leotard pure white. Looking down at herself in wonder, Raven choked out, "You have to leave."

"What? Why?" Jinx took a step forward, "What's going on?"

"I'm... different. I need to have a chat with my aspects." Raven looked up at them and smiled, "I'll be along in a little while. Just wait in my room for me."

"Okay... but don't be long." Beast Boy smiled and took Jinx's hand, "Come on, Jinx. We can trust her."

"Alright." Jinx still looked worried, but she followed Beast Boy through the portal anyway, vanishing with a flash of light.

"You know exactly what happened." Raven turned around to see the yellow clad Virtue frowning at her.

"It was just a little lie, Virtue, don't be mad at me."

"Indeed." Wisdom appeared next to Virtue, "We've become one now. You've made your peace with the Seed, Raven."

"I know... it's weird. I can still feel it in me, but... I can control it now. It wont get out again unless I want it to."

"Great power has a great price, Raven." Wisdom looked at her mistress over the tops of her glasses, "Don't recklessly use the Seeds power."

"I wont. Not unless I have to." Raven smiled, "I can feel. It's... better than I thought it would be."

"Be careful with your emotions as well." Wisdom shook her head, "Just because you no longer have to worry about destroying things when too many strains are placed upon you, doesn't mean that nothing will happen when you're pushed to a breaking point. The power still needs to be tightly controlled."

Jealousy appeared to Raven's left, "Wow! Are we ever getting a work out! Everyone's finding a bunk-mate except us!" she pouted.

"Not true." Love smiled down at them as she descended from above, "We feel very strongly about the two of them. They can bring out the best in each other if we nurture their relationship properly."

"I don't like playing mom to those two..." Jealousy stuck out her chin, "We love both of them... why can't they share?"

"I agree." Passion smiled as she slinked up to Raven and put an arm around her shoulders, "Let's get 'em both in the sack..."

"Enough." Raven smiled and shook her head, "I have to go back. Thank you all for helping me when I need you." She closed her eyes and concentrated, willing herself back to her physical form.

* * *

Raven woke to the sound of the heart monitor beeping away. Sitting up on the medical bay bed, she smiled down at her blood stained uniform. "I need to change." she said to no one, and smiled.

Smiling made her face hurt. Bringing her hand up, she touched the gash across her cheek that Red-X had left her just after he distracted her by revealing he was the young man she had slept with on the roof top several nights before.

That was a whole can of worms she wasn't even going to _try_ to touch just yet.

Hopping off the bed, she stumbled a bit. The blood loss must have been pretty bad if she was this weak. She took it slow the rest of the way to her room.

Stopping in front of the door, she took a deep breath and pushed out with her senses. Jinx and Beast Boy were both in her room, and they were both feeling concern. Raven smiled as she pushed the button to open the doors.

The two Titans looked up from where they were sitting on her bed as she walked in. Huge grins spread across their faces, and she smiled back.

"Hey guys!" her voice was cheerful, "I'm back from the dead!"

"Hey..." Jinx stared at her in wonder, "You're happy!"

"Yeah... seems dying did something good after all... I can... feel without consequence now."

"Oh man..." Beast Boy grinning like a fool, pulled out his T-Comp, "Cy is gonna flip."

* * *

Sarah sat with her back leaned against the arm of her couch, Cyborg's head resting in her lap. She had one hand laying against the side of his head, her thumb massaging the area just behind his ear. His human eye was closed, and his breathing was regular.

She knew he wasn't asleep. Cyborg didn't actually sleep. He powered down and recharged every other day or so, but his robotic body wasn't actually capable of sleep.

His eye twitched as the communicator in his arm started beeping. Raising his arm to his mouth without opening his eye, he spoke into it, "Go ahead Beast Boy."

"Hey dude. There's someone here that wants to say hello."

"Hello Speedy." Cyborg replied, guessing that the red haired archer had finally showed up.

"If you ever call me that again, I'm going to take a can opener to you." Raven's voice replied.

Cyborg shot up off of Sarah's lap and stared down at his communicator. Sarah jumped up and looked down at it as well. Raven stared back at them with a grin on her face. "I'm baaaaaack!" she sang at them.

"Raven!" he shouted, overjoyed, "But... how?!?"

"I had a few problems... Jinx and Beast Boy got into my mind and helped me sort them out."

"That's... vague." he replied.

"I'll explain it all latter." Raven nodded, "Hello Sarah."

"Hey, Raven... um... welcome back from being dead and all..." she sounded a little breathless.

"Yeah, it's nice." Raven chuckled, "Well, Cy, since you're already there, just go ahead and spend the rest of the night. We'll talk in the morning."

"Okay, but bright and early."

"That's fine. I'll be up." Raven nodded again with a smile, "Raven out."

After the line went dead, Sarah turned to Cyborg, "I've never seen her smile that much."

"Well she DID just come back from the dead..." Cyborg shook his head. The emotional roller coaster he had been on all night long had taken it's toll on him. "I think I need to power down for a little while."

"Oh good. I could use some sleep." Sarah smiled and took his hand, "The bed is this way."

"I know where the bed is, Princess..." he scooped her up in his arms and held her to his chest as he kissed her. They separated and he carried her, giggling, down the hall to her bedroom.

* * *

"I think he took it fairly well." Raven shrugged as Jinx and Beast Boy started giggling.

After a few moments, they all calmed down, "Hey, Raven..." Jinx glanced at Beast Boy, "We were talking before you came in, and-" she was cut off by Raven's T-Comp going off.

"Hold that thought." Raven pulled it out and flipped it open, "Raven here."

"Raven." it was Robin, "Hope I didn't wake you."

"No, I'm up. It's only 6:00 in the morning out there though... I can't believe Star let you get up that early."

"We're getting an early start on the Joker case this morning. I just called for an update. Is Speedy there yet?"

"Actually, no. I've been waiting-" she paused, "Well, no, the others have been waiting for him."

"You really don't want him there do you?"

"It's not that." Raven shook her head, "I was dead for a good three or four hours there." At Robin's blank look she shrugged, "What? I'm better now..."

"You... died?" Robin arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Red X showed up-"

"Red X showed up?!?" Robin shouted.

"Yeah..." Raven frowned at him, "Getting back to the dying part now..."

"Sorry." he had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Never mind. Concentrate on finding the Joker and get back here as soon as possible. Until then, we have another insensitive jerk on his way, so don't worry about us not filling our personal abuse quotas for the day." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Right." Robin shook his head with a chuckle, "Robin out then."

"Raven out." and she snapped the T-Comp shut as Beast Boy and Jinx burst into laughter. Taking a bow, Raven noticed the blood stained leotard again, "Hey, what was it you wanted Jinx? I kind of want to get out of this uniform..."

"Good." Jinx said firmly, "We were talking and we decided that we're both ready. We're going to have sex."

Raven blinked, "Um, good for you."

"With you." Beast Boy said gently as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait...." Raven tried to wrap her brain around this new development, "You want to have a threesome?"

"Yes." they replied in unison.

Raven thought about it for a moment. "Okay."

* * *

Robin placed his T-Comp on the bedside table and rolled back over to face Starfire. She smiled at him and ran her finger nails gently down his chest, "I believe you made me a promise last night."

"So I did." he reached out and pulled her to him, "Do you want to be on top, or should I?"

Star smiled what he was quickly beginning to think of as her 'sex kitten smile.' "I think I would like to be on top this time. We did not get to that before." Robin smiled and rolled her over so that she was on top of him, straddling his waist.

"Whatever makes you happy, Kori."

She smiled wider as she reached down and began to stroke him to hardness, "Whenever we return to the manor tonight after our work is done, I would also like to try 'doggy-style.'" She felt him stiffen immediately and chuckled, "I take it that you would like that also."

"Sure." he rasped out, his throat suddenly dry.

"Good. Now, let us see if you are always what Raven calls a 'marathon man' or if last night was a fluke..."

* * *

On top of a skyscraper in Jump City, a lone figure clad all in black stood in the strong early morning wind. His cape billowed out from his shoulders and his hair blew over to one side, obscuring his right eye. At his feet lay a skull like mask with a red X across it, splitting one of the eyes.

Staring down at the blood that still stained his right hand, he whispered to the rest of the city, "What have I done?"

His eyes were drawn out to the tower shaped like a 'T' that sat on a small island in the bay. He'd stuck around long enough to see that Raven had died in Jinx's place, and that had made him feel even worse. She _had_ been a good lay, and he felt like they had connected briefly in that intense moment of passion. She must have felt something as well if she had been so upset about it.

He suddenly felt the urge to go see her. They would have brought her back to the Tower, and he could probably get through it's defenses again the same way he had when he'd stolen the Red-X suit in the first place.

Eyes narrowing, he picked up the mask and put it back on. Spreading his arms, he leapt from the edge of the building and glided down to a lower rooftop.

He had amends to make.

* * *

Raven gasped as Jinx worked her over. The girl had definitely done this before. Beast Boy was content to suckle her breasts while Jinx went down on her, but Raven wasn't about to let them get away with pampering her the whole time.

"Beast Boy..." she grabbed his head and pulled his mouth up to hers. After kissing him soundly, she pushed him away from her and sat up. She grabbed Jinx's head and kissed her as well. After retrieving her tongue from Jinx's mouth, she pulled the other girl up further on the bed and pushed her down so she was laying on her back, "Come here Beast Boy."

He crawled over and she smiled at him, "What's up, Rae?"

"You'll have to learn this eventually, so it might as well be under my tutelage." she pointed down at Jinx, "Get down there and stick your tongue out."

"Uh..." Beast Boy grinned like an idiot, "Okay!"

As he assumed the position, Jinx looked at Raven very seriously, "Have I ever told you, Raven, that you're my personal hero?"

"No. But after I'm done teaching Beast Boy how to give proper oral sex, you'll be calling _him_ your personal hero."

"Alright, Rae." Beast Boy said as he stuck his tongue out, "Naw yawt?"

"First thing to do is find her clit." she reached down and rubbed a little, and Jinx gasped and threw her head back. Chuckling, Raven continued, "You might have to stimulate her a little to do that..."

* * *

Breakfast at Wayne Manor could be a lavish affair, with multiple courses, a butler waiting on you, and decedent food fit for a king.

Robin hated lavish affairs.

"Just a few bowls of cereal will do, Alfred." he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was dressed in street clothes, just a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans. His feet were bare.

"Very good, Master Richard."

"Wait..." Starfire poked her boyfriend in the arm, "Do I not get to order for myself?" Alfred had supplied the guest room they had spent the night in with clothes for her (Robin had no idea where they had come from. It was just like Bruce to keep around clothes that would fit a seventeen year old girl 'just in case') and she now wore a simple brown skirt with a white short sleeved top. She too, had left her feet bare.

Robin sighed. They weren't going to get to the Batcave for another two hours at this rate, "Sure. Whatever makes you happy Kori." he smiled at her.

"I would like waffles then!" Star bounced in her seat and smiled up at Alfred.

The old butler lit up, "_Very_ good Madam. I will begin immediately." and he rushed off, all smiles, with a bounce to his step.

"He seemed... very pleased." Starfire blinked.

Robin just chuckled, "Bruce and I don't usually have too much time for breakfast... or lunch or dinner for that matter." he shrugged, "Alfred loves to cook, but we're constantly telling him to make something quick and simple so we can get back to work."

"You two sound like you are very much alike. When do I get to meet Bruce?"

"Now would be a good time." They turned to see Bruce striding into the dining room in a rush. He wore khaki slacks and a button down white shirt with no tie. Starfire noted with interest that he too had left his feet bare. "Good morning, Kori. I'm Bruce Wayne." he smiled at her as she rose and shook his hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you!" Outwardly she was polite and respectful but inside she was rather awed. All of the stories Beast Boy and Cyborg had told her of Batman were certainly true if it was _this_ man behind the mask. He had a much larger frame than Robin, suited more for beating the daylights out of criminals than the acrobatics her boyfriend was prone to. Bruce had a presence that commanded respect, and he reminded her very much of some of the kings she had met while serving as Crown Princess of Tameran.

She also noticed how similar the set of his shoulders and the way he carried himself was to Robin. They even looked a little bit alike. This man truly was the Boy Wonder's father.

Robin seemed less impressed with him than she was, "Morning Bruce." He yawned.

"Morning _Dick_." Bruce replied with a grin.

Robin glared at him for a moment, then reached out and snatched the paper that the billionaire had been holding from his hands, "Alfred already took our orders."

"Damn. I'll just go fix myself a bowl of cereal then..."

"Don't bother." Robin grinned, "We're having waffles."

Bruce arched an eyebrow and turned to Starfire, "Your request I'm guessing?"

"Yes." she nodded with a smile, "Of all the Earth foods I have sampled in the four years I have been here, waffles are second on the list of my favorite foods."

"What's first?" he asked with a grin.

Robin smiled knowingly as she replied with a happy grin, "Mustard!"

* * *

Jinx moaned as Beast Boy moved against her with a steady rhythm. Her legs were up and bent at the knees, and he had one arm hooked under her left leg. The changeling's right hand massaged her breasts and held her shoulder occasionally.

Raven knelt behind Beast Boy, pushing gently on his lower back, forcing him to penetrate Jinx deeper. She pressed her breasts against his back and placed searing kisses up his neck and down his shoulders.

Jinx cried out as she had her second orgasm. As Beast Boy slowed his pumping, she gasped out, "Raven... down here on you back... you have GOT to feel this..."

"I've done this before, Jinx. I know what it's like."

"Not like this you haven't... not with Beast Boy..."

"True." Raven pulled her friend back and turned his head until she could kiss him. After a moment she pulled back, "How about it, Beast Boy? Want to fuck me?"

"I've wanted to fuck you for a _year_."

"Really?" she smiled.

"Really." He reached around and grabbed her about the waist, pulling her around and depositing her next to Jinx, who immediately started playing with her breasts. Beast Boy reached out and opened her legs, guiding himself in.

Raven gasped as he entered her, and clutched at Jinx's hair. "God damn..." she whispered as Beast Boy began to move. "Beast Boy..."

"Yeah?" he grinned at her.

She opened her eyes and glared, "Fuck me harder, damnit."

He grinned wider and started to fuck like his namesake.

* * *

Speedy walked up the path to Titan Tower with a sigh. Apparently no cabs ran to the island in the middle of the bay. He couldn't exactly blame them, but one would think the other Titans would have had a car waiting for him or something. Making him walk a few miles must have been Raven's idea of a joke.

Glancing up at the Tower as it was bathed in the early morning light, he saw a figure crawling across the vertical surface just below the cross of the 'T.' Frowning, he sat down his large gym bag and opened it. Pulling out his bow and a quiver, her slung the latter over his back and pulled an arrow. Aiming up at the dark figure, he let fly.

As the arrow reached it's target, it exploded into an energy net, trapping the intruder and dropping them the four stories to the ground. Whoever it was would be hurting when they woke up.

As he walked over, Speedy pulled out another arrow. No sense in being careless. He aimed it down at the still moving form of the captured intruder.

"Mind if I ask who you are and what you're doing here?" Speedy arched an eyebrow.

The figure rolled over and Speedy's eyes grew wide, "Name's Red-X, kid, and I'm here to pay my respects. Your pal Raven died last night."

The arrow buried it's self in the ground next to the thief's head, "You're a liar." Speedy growled, "Raven's not-"

"I saw her die myself." Red-X cut him off. He continued in a much quieter voice, "It's my fault she died."

"You're coming with me." Speedy bent down and eradicated the energy field with a counter arrow, "If she's really dead, I'm putting this arrow in your back." He pulled out another arrow and showed it to Red-X. It was labeled 'High Explosive.'

"We'll see." Red-X stood up, "I'm guessing I'll be in front of you."

"You guess right." Speedy placed the arrow in his bow, "March, fuck head."

* * *

Raven sighed with pleasure as she watched Jinx moving her hips on top of Beast Boy. The changeling had his eyes shut tightly as he gripped her hips, moving her faster and with more insistency every passing second.

"Raven..." Jinx moaned, "Are you with us?"

"Yeah..." the psion had pulled out her vibrator and was slowly building herself to orgasm. "I'm going to try something... tell me if it works right..."

She concentrated on the feeling building inside of her and projected it outward. Beast Boy and Jinx both gasped simultaneously and began to shake. Raven quickly looped the empathic flow, so she would feel their pleasure as well.

It only took seconds for all three of them to experience bone shaking orgasms that were compounded exponentially every second they continued. It took all of Raven's willpower to shut down the cycle so that none of them would die from the extreme endorphin release.

They collapsed into a heap on the bed, all of them breathing hard and feeling sticky. Beast Boy gasped out, "Holy... shit... Raven..."

"Yeah... what he said..." Jinx smiled and leaned over, kissing Raven soundly, "We'll have to do this again."

"We'll see..." Raven smiled, "You two should sleep."

"What about you?" Beast Boy asked as he pulled Jinx into his embrace and cuddled up against her.

"I was dead for a few hours earlier. Got all the rest I needed." Raven smiled, "I'm going to go to Jinx's room to take a shower. You two sleep here. I'll wake you in time for patrol tonight."

"Right... patrol..." Jinx rolled her eyes, "Even being dead doesn't make you any less of a work whore..."

"Yeah dude... you're more like Robin every day." Beast Boy yawned.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing." Raven shook her head, "Get some rest you two. We have a psycho bent on raising an army of the dead to deal with later."

"Oh." Jinx blinked, shut her eyes, and snuggled into Beast Boy, "Right."

Raven pulled her sheets up around them and kissed both of them on their temples, "Sleep well, Lovers."

She smiled when she realized they were both already asleep.

Standing on shaky legs, Raven grabbed a bathrobe from her closet and walked for the door. No sense putting anything on when she was just going to jump right in the shower any way.

* * *

The first place Speedy directed Red-X to was the medical room. Aside from a large red stain on the table however, there was no sign of a dead Raven.

"Maybe they moved her. Or buried her already." Red- X shrugged, "The only way we'll know is if we ask them."

Speedy poked him sharply with the tip of the arrow, and left if pressed against his shoulder, "You move and I blow this arrow right in your arm."

"Right, right." Red-X waved him off. Speedy growled and pulled out his T-Comp. He quickly punched in the sequence needed to do a location trace, and looked for Cyborg.

"Cy's across town. Must be with his girlfriend or something." he lowered his arrow and Red-X turned to face him.

"Decided to trust me?"

"I can activate the Tower security grid through voice command." Speedy looked up and grinned, "I'm not worried about you getting away. Even the famed Red-X would have a hell of a time getting past the grid in this place." He went back to work on his T-Comp. This time, he got a signal he could follow.

"Beast Boy's signal is in the Tower. In... Raven's room." he swallowed.

"Maybe they set it up as kind of a morning room or something."

"IF she's dead, which she isn't."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"Let's just go find out." Speedy started off down the hallway, Red-X in tow. They rounded a corner and started down towards Raven's room when the doors ahead of them opened. They froze as Raven herself walked out. Red-X made a strangled noise of surprise, and Speedy's eyes grew wide.

Raven was completely nude, and had a black silk bathrobe tossed over one arm. She stopped when she saw them and arched an eyebrow.

There was silence in the hallway for a full minute before Red-X blurted out in a voice that sounded relived and angry at the same time, "You're not dead!"

"No, I'm not. That wasn't the case about two hours ago." Raven turned to Speedy, "You bleached your hair?"

"Yeah... Raven, did you know you're not wearing any clothes?"

She looked down at herself, "Oh, that. I'm not too worried about you being offended by getting an eye full. I'm not THAT bad looking."

Speedy shook his head, "Well, no, you're actually pretty hot." He pointed back over his shoulder, "Did you know you're naked in front of a villain who claims he killed you last night?"

"Nothing I haven't seen before..." Red-X muttered.

"We'll be having a talk about THAT after I take a shower. Why don't you two go down to the kitchen and get breakfast ready. Cyborg will be home soon, and I don't want to have to tell the story three times for each of you." With that, she walked across the hall into the next room and shut the door.

Speedy turned to Red-X, "What was THAT all about?"

"I'll tell you while we get breakfast ready."

"You're actually going to stick around for Breakfast?"

"I want to hear her story just as much as you do. I also want to know how they knew to find me last night. The stuff I'm collecting for my client has to have some kind of meaning if they knew where the next piece was going to be."

"Right." Speedy arched an eyebrow, "You like bacon or sausage better?"

* * *

Starfire looked about in wonder at the Batcave. The cavernous tunnel system under Wayne Manor was extensive, and Batman had made good use of it. They passed a launch pad for a sleek looking hover plane, a small garage containing motorcycles and two different versions of the Batman's car, and finally came to an information and research area that contained more computers and investigation equipment than she'd ever seen in one place.

"The changing rooms are over here." Robin said as he walked towards a door off of the info room. "Alfred will have cleaned and brought down your uniform already. Change and met me back here in five."

"Right." Starfire nodded, wondering when Alfred found the time to do everything he did. Following Robin through the door, she admired his lean back as he pulled his shirt off and walked through the door that had a bat symbol on it. She turned to the portal next to it and saw an identical door, with one exception; someone had painted a pink bow on the head of the bat on her door.

Giggling, she pushed it open and found a locker room beyond. Three shower stalls with padded floors, as well as a vanity that looked fully stocked with cosmetics and beauty supplies gave the room what Raven would call a 'girly' feel. She was guessing that Babs Gordon was the only one who used this area.

True to Robin's guess, her freshly cleaned uniform was hanging in a small alcove across from the lockers, next to a spare Batgirl costume. She frowned looking at it, knowing it's owner would never be able to wear it again.

Clearing the sad thought from her head, Starfire went about changing and getting ready for a day of what Robin had assured her would be full of 'knocking heads' in order to gather information. She'd had a lecture over breakfast from both him and Bruce about how Gotham wasn't like Jump City. The bad guys here were _really_ bad, and as a result the good guys sometimes had to be bad as well.

The conversation had left her feeling drained and tiered. Cruelty was not in her nature, and the fact that Robin had told her that they might have to 'beat information' out of people upset her. Still, this was Batman's city, and she would have to play by his rules while she worked in it.

Taking one last glance at the Batgirl costume, she steeled herself with grim determination and stepped back out into the Batcave.

* * *

Cyborg walked into the rec-room of Titan Tower at half past seven and was greeted with the smell of frying eggs and bacon. He could hear two people moving around in the kitchen, so, figuring it wasn't Beast Boy cooking the meat, he tossed his keys on the table in front of the TV and called out, "Yo! Jinx! Raven! I'm back!"

"How wonderful Dear!" he heard a male voice reply, "Why don't you just come in and put your feet up while we finish your breakfast!"

Cyborg shook his head with a chuckle as he placed the voice, "Hey, Speedy! Glad to see you finally made it here, bro!" walking over to the kitchen, he glanced at the counter and saw Red-X's mask sitting between a carton of milk and a case of eggs. "The hell..."

Stepping around the counter and into the kitchen he saw Speedy frying the bacon, and a young man with blond hair and a black body suit mixing up batter for pancakes.

"Uh..."

"X makes some mean fried eggs, dude." Speedy said over his shoulder as he poked the bacon in the pan."

"You want fluffy 'cakes or flat ones?" Red-X asked, glancing over at the robotic Titan.

"What I want," Cyborg leveled his arm at Red-X as it transformed into his sonic cannon, "is to know what the hell you're doing in my kitchen!"

Speedy and Red-X both blinked at him before X replied, "Um... I'm making pancakes man."

"I can see that, you-" Cyborg was cut off by a gentle hand on his arm. He looked down to see Raven standing next to him, wearing a black silk robe.

"Calm down, Cyborg. He's here by invitation."

"Right... so did you go crazy after you died?"

"No." Raven smiled at him and he backed away. "What?"

"You smiled."

"And?"

"And you don't smile unless you're about to hit me or something."

"I've changed a little. Now sit down and let Speedy and Red-X finish our breakfast. I'll tell the story while they work."

Cyborg glared around at all of them for a few moments. He knew that Raven could be trusted, and he knew that she could sense when others could be trusted, so he eventually gave up and heaved a grumpy sigh. "Ya'll are gonna' be the death of me, you know that?"

Raven chuckled as Speedy shrugged and went back to tending his bacon. Red-X turned around with the bowl of batter still in his hands, "So," he sounded annoyed, "fluffy or flat?"

* * *

"Robin," Starfire asked into her communicator as she flew above him, following his motorcycle through the streets of Gotham, "Where are we going?"

The reply was curt and tight, telling her that he was in full business mode, "The pool halls that Harley has supposedly been frequenting. Once we get there, we'll ask around and see if anyone has seen someone matching her description. Then we can narrow down the number of buildings we have to watch."

"Would it not be easier to go as civilians so as not to arouse suspicion?"

"It'll be more effective if Robin the Boy Wonder wants to know. People will talk with a little convincing."

Starfire definitely didn't like the sound of that, but let the matter be for now. She would have to play the game like Robin did now, and adapt to the situation as needed. Following his lead was the best bet while they were in Gotham.

* * *

"So now you can..." Cyborg searched for a word for a moment, "feel?"

"Without consequence." Raven nodded, "Or very little anyway. Extreme emotional strain might still force my powers out of control, but everyday emotions such as happiness and anger can now be expressed in full without the Tower suffering major structural damage."

"Wow." Speedy shook his head, "Being dead sounds like it sucks."

"It wasn't too much fun, no." Raven smiled grimly at Red-X, who paused with a bite of pancake halfway to his mouth while under her glare, "It hurts too."

"Sorry." he mumbled. "I wasn't _trying_ to kill you..."

Cyborg shook his head and pushed his half finished breakfast away from him, "I'm suddenly not hungry." Speedy grabbed the plate and pulled it towards himself, happily digging into the leftovers. Cyborg eyed him and stood up, "I'm going to get some work done. Reports to file for Robin and all that."

"Right, right." Raven stood as well. "X, meet me on the roof when you're done, okay?"

"Um..." he swallowed his food, "Okay."

Cyborg looked between the two of them for a moment, shook his head again and stalked off. Raven followed him to the elevator, the eyes of the two young men remaining at the table following her the whole way. As soon as the doors hissed shut, Speedy turned back to Red-X, "Dude, is it just me or is Raven hot?"

"What? You just noticed?" X shook his head with a snort, "She's been hot for like, years."

"Yeah, well, I guess her personality always got in the way before. Now she's down right pleasant." Speedy arched an eyebrow, "Now what was that earlier about having seen her naked before?"

Red-X, blushed, "I think that's what we'll be talking about up on the roof. She was on patrol the other night and she caught me purse snatching. Not in my suit." Speedy looked at him funny, "What? I can't have fun every now and then?"

"Purse snatching is fun for you?"

"Getting back to the point, she caught me, made me give the purse back, and then we had sex on top of a building. She didn't know who I was."

"That's fucked up." Speedy shook his head and shovled some more food in his mouth, "Yovv bebber oo 'alk oo er." he said with his mouth full.

"Yeah." Red-X stood up and grabbed his mask of the counter on his way to the elevator.

* * *

Raven stared out at the Jump City skyline from the top of Titan Tower. It was amazing to feel _wonder_ for the first time. To be truly impressed by the beauty of the architecture. All the new emotions she was experiencing kept crashing through her body like waves, forcing her to retreat back into her tightly controlled shell every so often so as not to be overwhelmed.

"Hey." Red-X walked up beside her, "It's beautiful in the morning like this isn't it?"

"Yeah." Raven smiled and basked in the moment of silence as an understanding passed between the two of them. Being an empath, she was acutely aware of such moments, but it wasn't until now that she could fully understand the significance of such times.

Red-X broke the silence a few minutes later, "Look, Raven... I-"

"It's okay." she turned to him and placed a hand on the side of his face, "You know, your voice is much nicer when it's not being run through that filter."

"I always thought it sounded kind of like Robin."

"It's supposed to." she smiled and lowered her hand.

"Yeah." They stared at each other for a moment more, then he blurted out, "Brian."

"Excuse me?" Raven blinked.

"My name." he clarified with a half grin, "It's Brian. I thought... well, I just wanted you to know."

"Red-X sounds more dangerous."

"Yeah, but now... you know." he shrugged and a blush crept up his neck.

"That night, when I told you I didn't want to know... that was fun. That was dangerous, and reckless, and it's not something I normally do. So don't expect it to happen again." Raven fidgeted. She wasn't used to feeling nervous.

"I don't! I mean... well... you know who I am now. It... wouldn't be right."

"Because we're enemies, or because I know your name?" she flashed him a grin.

He frowned at her, "You know what I mean."

As her grin faded, she reached out and touched his chest, "Hey, just once more, okay, then you have to get the hell off of the Tower."

"You mean you wanna... right now?" he looked over at the door that lead inside, as if he expected Cyborg to come crashing out any second and pummel him.

Raven giggled, "No, silly." she grabbed a handful of his suit and pulled him down towards her. He smiled into her mouth as she kissed him, and he kissed her back. After several seconds, they pulled apart. "That was what I meant."

"We never did that before." he pointed out.

"We connected though. We _should_ have done that then."

"Yeah, I know." he smiled a sad smile, "Maybe in another time or another place... but not this one, huh?"

"No, not this time or place. I'll see you again, I'm sure. Just stop stealing the Arcana for whoever it is you're working for." she frowned, "Who are you working for?"

"What the hell are the Arcana?"

"The stuff you were sent to steal can be used with dark words of power to raise the dead." Raven waved her hand as zombie armies were unimportant, "Who are you working for?"

"I don't know his name... he's kind of tall, has this body suit that looks like... well, it's black and..."

As he continued his description, Raven's eyes narrowed.

* * *

Robin and Starfire stood outside the fourth pool hall in the row along a street affectionately called Ruffians Row by the locals. If there was a biker gang in town, this was where they would be.

Glancing across the street at the auto repair shop he'd been sitting on top of with Batman just two nights before, Robin frowned. The other three bars hadn't turned up anything, but this was the one his first lead had told him Harley had been hanging out in.

"Expect action." he told Starfire in a no-nonsense voice.

"I am ready." she replied, and they walked in.

A bouncer type just inside the door frowned at them, "No kids allowed, pu-" he didn't get the rest of his sentence out as Robin belted him across the jaw, sending him to the floor. Starfire, alarmed at her boyfriends unprovoked attack, still had enough of her wits about her to take stock of the rest of the bar.

Of the four pool tables in the center of the large room, only one was being played on by four other men. A bartender was reeling from shock as his bouncer was just flattened by a teenager.

Robin spoke into the deadly quiet, "I'm here for information."

"We aint gonna tell you shit kid!" one of the men at the pool table shouted and pointed his cue at Robin.

The top half of the cue fell to the floor a half second later and the bird-a-rang returned to Robin's hand, "Really? That's too bad."

"What the fu-" the man was looking at his chopped up pool cue and never even saw Robin's foot before it connected with his face, smashing him back across the pool table. The other three men all swung cues at him, but he blocked them all with a hastily drawn bo-staff.

"You guys really don't want this." he said in a playfully calm voice as another of the men was blasted from his feet by a well aimed swing of the staff. The other two lunged at him, but before they could grab him, a green blur interposed it's self between the combatants.

"Enough!" Starfire shouted, her eyes glowing green and energy crackling off of her in waves. "You cannot beat Robin! Stand down and you shall not be hurt!"

"Starfire!" Robin barked out, "Wait by the door. I'll handle this."

"Quiet Robin." she snapped. His mouth dropped open as she reached out and grabbed one of the men by his shirt front. Lifting him from the ground, she pulled a picture out of her belt pouch and showed it to him, "Have you seen this woman?"

The man looked at the picture for a moment, his face painted with fear, then nodded, "Yeah... yeah I seen her... she's in here almost every night with the Black Devil gang... they just got back in town from a ride up to Blödhaven... they'll be by tonight!"

"Then I suggest you NOT be here tonight." Starfire narrowed her eyes, "Things will be getting... loud."

"Okay! Just don't kill me!"

"I do not kill." she dropped him to the ground and whirled about to face Robin, her eyes still blazing with green light, "I prevent death from happening." With that, she stalked out of the bar.

Robin took a moment to meet everyone's eyes before he spoke, "None of you are here tonight. Got it?" Even the bartender nodded, "Good. We'll be back."

As he exited the building, he saw Starfire standing with her back to the door across the street. In a swirl of black cape he stalked over to her and began shouting at her back, "What the hell was that? I told you to let me handle the interrogation, and to just look menacing behind me. That was NOT a request from your boyfriend, Starfire!" she winced as he raised his voice a little more, "That was an ORDER from your LEADER!"

"You were hurting those men!" she shouted back as she whirled about, tears in her eyes.

"I needed information! That's how we get it in this town!"

"It wasn't that you were hurting them, Robin! It was _how_ you were hurting them! Like you were out for revenge..." her voice trailed off and she hugged herself to ward off the chill of the Gotham air. They stood in silence for some time before he spoke.

"I am out for revenge Star. Babs needs some kind of closure."

"But that... that was cruel. You are not normally capable of such cruelty."

Robin turned away from her and started back towards his motorcycle. He spoke back over his shoulder, his voice full of disgust and self loathing, "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of. Especially in this city."

"Robin..." she flew up behind him as he reached his bike. He was just about to jam his helmet on his head when his T-Comp started going crazy. Pulling it out, he flipped it open with more force than was necessary.

"Robin here. What is it?"

Raven frowned at him, "What's got you so pissy?"

"Fight. What do you want?" he neglected to add that the fight had been with Starfire, and that he had clearly lost.

"Don't flip out on me. Calm down." Raven narrowed her eyes, "Calm."

Robin took several deep breaths and was surprised when Starfire rubbed his back gently. He looked over at her and she smiled weakly, nodding at his T-Comp. He turned back to it, "Okay, calmed down. Now what is it, Raven?"

"We caught up to Red-X and found out who he was working for. I convinced him to stop stealing the High Arcana, but that doesn't mean his employer will stop trying to get a hold of them."

"The High Arcana do what, exactly?" Robin arched a corner of his mask."

Raven sighed as if she'd explained this several times before, which he supposed, she probably had, "Together with the right dark magic words they can raise the dead."

"Like zombies?"

"Like really mean zombies." Raven nodded, "I'm not worried about zombies though... I'm worried about his employer."

"Why?" Robin narrowed his eyes.

"Get done in Gotham and get back here as soon as you can, Robin." Raven frowned.

"Who is it, Raven?"

"It's Slade. He's back."

* * *

Closing Notes: Yeah, like you didn't see that one coming. You didn't? Oh! Then I guess you're just going, "The fuck? Jake? You on crack?" Yeah. I'm like that sometimes.

* * *

Responces:

ChaosChampion- Jinx IS good. Just not as good as Robin and Red-X. Looking at DC stats, we see that Dick Grayson is one of the best martial artists in the world, just behind Batman, Lady Shiva, and Casandra Cain (the new Batgirl.) If Red-X is THAT good... well, Jinx always has her powers to fall back on, so she doesn't NEED to be as god as them. :)

BeautyOfTheRose- You owe me a biscut. :)

Kokuryu- I have done my tribal 'Star and Rob are no longer virgins dance.' Yay.

Firpi- You actually went back and read Sonata before finishing Cantata? Wow. You're... smart! Hey, are the rest of you reviewers smart? I mean, I figure MOST of you are, but it's so rare that people actually READ those warnings that say stuff like, "You HAVE TO READ SONATA FIRST!" I'm pleased to know that someone does. :)

skweeks- Thank you for understanding. Hope this came at a good time for you to read it. :)

Bonekahn313- Raven didn't stay dead. Oh well. Another cool chapter, hope you liked it. :)

goldfish demon- You guessed wrong. Sorry, no cookie for you. But if you ask BeautyOfTheRose really nice, I bet she might have some left over biscuts. :)

chickiidoo- Aw! The best conflic happens when people die! I'm killing... um.... ROBIN! In the next chapter! Just 'cause you told me not to! Okay, so I'm not, but hey, everyone has to die some time right? Expect some more. I'm so evil.

MOOgoestheCHICKEN- Yes! Yes! Yes! Raven DIED! But, um... I brought her back, so it's cool. And see? Raven got with Beast Boy. And Jinx. Whatever. It was hot, and that's what counts. :) But really, I made you cry? Damn. First I'm making people laugh, now cry... what am I, and evil bastard? Oh... wait... yeah.

sick with joy- Things are looking up for your pairing prefrences. Hope that makes you... less sick. Or more sick. With joy.

Nightwish13- Hey now! ONLY the good die young! That's why I'm so BAD! Heh. I don't always seperate out Char. POV, but I do always seperate out scenes. Like in a movie. Think of it like that. I did screw up once in the last chapter at the end. I should have switched to a new scene when Jinx woke up from where Red-X had shocked her. Sorry 'bout that...

Stolen Valkyrie- Damn. Take a pill or something! Simmer. Just repeat to yourself over and over... 'It's just fanfiction... it's just fanfiction...' Glad I'm keeping you on the edge of your seat. :)

Heaven's Angel- I expect an e-mail with full details on the reenactment. Seriously. I also had sex with my girlfriend for four hours straight this past weekend. Twice. Um yeah. Prolly shouldn't have typed that last part. :)

CHEENAMI Danny- Hope I cleared some things up for you in this chapter. Cleared them up like mud anyway. :)

dbzneon- Sex all around, and one good Alfred moment. Happy campers are we. :)

Sizeist- Like, there's the update dude, like yeah! Hows that like, cool for you and stuff? Sweet!

Brogramn- Always glad to hear from you. The sex in this chapter was a bit more extream. It made me hot though, so it's got to be good, right? :) KPAAF, yo.

AmethystAngel89- I hope this chapter pushed you fully into this story being your favorite in the freakin' world. That would rock socks. :)

StarryRavenFire- My first reviewer was the only one to hit it spot on. Raven/Jinx/Beast Boy WAS the pairing for this chapter, and you got it! Cookie for you!

* * *

So many reviewers! It makes the replying so much fun! I think I got everyone this time, so hey, visit me at and I'll see you around!

* * *

Next Chapter- Robin and Starfire turn up the heat, and Robin meets someone who will change his life forever. Raven and Speedy argue like an old married couple, Cyborg looks into hydrolic penis equipment, Jinx and Beast Boy crack jokes, Batman knows everything, and the shit hits the fan in Jump City. What are the Titans to do when the bad guys come out in force? 


	7. Chapter 7

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jake McDonald

Opening notes: Okay. Here it is. Chapter Seven. The delay was due to numerous factors, not the least of which were school, illness, computer trouble, and the holidays. But I'm back now, and I'll be cranking 'em out on at least a bi-weekly basis. I hope. Classes just started again, and I've got NO electives this semester. Straight business classes all the way. Gag.

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

In hindsight, Robin would realize he probably could have handled the situation with more grace. He could have been far more calm and collected about it.

But one didn't find out one's arch-nemesis was still alive every day.

"WHAT?" he shouted at his T-Comp, "Slade?"

"Yes, Slade." Raven scowled at him, "Now get your head on straight and chill out."

"Chill out? CHILL OUT?" he was screaming now, "Fuck you, Raven! I'll be on the first flight back there and we're going to go out and-"

"No." Raven's voice was calm, quiet, and collected, but it cut through his shouting like a hot knife through butter, "You'll stay in Gotham and finish the case you're working now. We can handle this while you're gone. In fact," Raven's eyes narrowed, "I think I prefer you there. Don't come home until I give the word to."

Raven gaped at her and even Starfire was in shock, "What the hell are you talking about Raven? I lead the Titans-"

"And you put me in charge before you left." the psion pointed out, "I don't need you haring all over Jump City trying to catch Slade because of some stupid vendetta. You'll stay in Gotham until I call for you." Robin opened his mouth to give an angry retort, but she cut him off again, "Don't make me call Batman."

He snapped his mouth shut. It was like telling him that she'd tell his parents he was being naughty, but it was still effective. He knew she'd do it to, if she felt the need to. His eyes narrowed in anger, and his teeth grit in frustration, he replied, "Fine."

"Good. I'll keep you updated. Star, keep him in line please."

"Yes Raven." she nodded, taking the request as an order. It was all Robin could do to not scream at both of them.

"Oh, and Robin," Raven smiled lightly, "Jinx has been wearing your uniform. Is that okay?"

Robin's face changed from angry to confused, "Why has Jinx been wearing my uniform?"

"She felt like filing in for you while you were gone. She actually looks pretty hot in it."

"Please tell her not to... I don't care, but Batman might. He's kind of a control freak like that." Robin rubbed his eyes through his mask.

"Okay then. New uniforms for Jinx and me then." she sighed, "We need to go shopping."

"Okay," Robin shook his head, "Being dead obviously did something weird to you. I'll talk to you later Raven. I want updates daily and every time you get a major breakthrough, got it?"

"That order I will take. Raven out." Robin snapped his T-comp shut and sighed.

"My own team." he glared at Starfire, "You could have backed me up."

"But she is right. It is better for you to remain here." Star leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "We must finish what we have started, and when it comes to Slade, you do tend to be a little..." she trailed off, looking for the right words.

"Fanatical?" he grinned.

"Overzealous." she amended with a giggle.

"Fair enough. Hey, let's head back to the Batcave and see if Alfred has lunch ready yet. We'll need our rest for tonight."

"May I ride with you?"

"Of course." he put his helmet on and was about to jump on the bike when the communicator started beeping.

The female voice that crackled through was familiar, but he couldn't place it right away, "Batman! Please tell me you're actually awake and that you don't just come out at night..."

Robin hit the button to respond and spoke, "That's a negative, whoever this is. Look, I don't know how you got this frequency, but you need to get off of it right now."

"Sheesh. You must work with Batman. Are all of you Gotham types this anti-social?"

"Who the hell is this?" Robin demanded.

"Black Canary." she responded, "Who the hell is this?"

"Robin. Sorry about the confusion Canary, but we don't usually just let people use this channel." Black Canary was a JLA member, an expert martial artist, and a woman he had met only once, "Batman is indisposed at the moment. Is there anything I can help with?"

"Any help would be nice. There's a truck load of baddies with sub-machine guns blasting up the First Gotham Bank downtown. How fast can you be here?"

"Pretty damn fast. I'll be bringing Starfire with me as well."

"Who?"

"Don't any of the JLA keep up on what the Titans do?"

"Some of us. Just not me."

"Whatever." Robin growled at her, "Just keep them busy until we get there."

"Right. Canary out."

"Robin out." the line went dead and he jumped on the bike, "Get on, Star. We're going to have to go fast."

"Right." she jumped on the back and Robin kicked the engine over.

* * *

Raven was walking down the hall when the door to her room opened and an exhausted but happy looking Jinx stepped out. She was wearing one of Raven's long t-shirts that dropped to her knees, and grinning like she'd just been laid.

Raven didn't even slow down, "Get Beast Boy up will you? You two have slept in long enough."

"Whoa. What's the big rush?" Jinx's smile faded.

"We just talked with Red-X-"

"He was here?" Jinx tensed.

"Uh huh. We ate breakfast together."

"Wha..." now the pink haired sorceress just looked confused.

"Long story. I seem to be collecting those. Anyway, I talked to him and he told me he's been working for Slade. The bastard just wont stay dead."

"Shit." Jinx fell back into the door way and leaned against the frame, "This is bad, Raven. Slade is worse than you know."

"I figured you might have some insight since you've worked for him. We'll discuses that while we get new uniforms put together. In the mean time, Speedy is here, and I want the boys out tracking down clues while we're working here."

"Right, right. No rest for the good guys huh?"

"We've had almost two months of quiet, and now Slade's back? I don't like how the math is working here."

"You think we're going to get hit hard?"

"I think he's going to have every nasty baddie he can dredge up after Jump City." Raven rubbed her eyes, "So get Beast Boy up and get him out of my room. I need to get dressed after I give Cyborg and Speedy their orders."

"Right." Jinx nodded, now in full Titan mode. She was more like Robin than she knew.

"Robin said no more wearing his uniform by the way, so we'll have to work up something unique and stylish."

"Stylish?"

Raven nodded, "No sense kicking bad guy butt if you can't look good doing it."

Jinx grinned and winked at her friend, "I'll get BB up."

"Good girl. See you in a few minutes." and Raven continued down the hall.

* * *

Speedy was channel surfing when Raven stormed into the rec-room. "Hey! You guys get like, forty more stations than we do out in New York."

"We signed up for extended cable." Raven stopped next to the couch and stared at the set for a few moments. Shaking her head, she stepped back and focused on Speedy. Her attention span was slipping now that she didn't have to maintain such a tight hold on her mind. "I've got marching orders for you."

"Man..." he sighed and shut the TV off, "I just got here Rae! Can't you give a guy who hasn't slept in two days a break?"

"You look fine to me."

"Really? 'Cause you don't look so bad yourself."

"I'm wearing nothing but a robe. You'd think any girl dressed like this looked good."

"I'm not NEARLY as big a slut as you make me out to be, you know."

"You've had sex with more people than I have." she rolled her eyes, "And the way I'm going I'd say you qualify as a slut."

"Really?" Speedy looked interested now, "So how many have there been? I know you fucked X-"

"He told you about that?" Raven felt her cheeks redden. Embarrassment. Just the emotion she needed.

"Yeah. He said you were a good lay, by the way."

"I'm overjoyed." she deadpanned, "If we could just not discuses my sex life, that'd be great."

"But what if I wanted to be _part_ of your sex life?" he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"You'd have to get better lines and grow a new personality." she glared, "Business, please?"

Speedy grumbled and stood up with a sigh, "Fine."

She nodded and stood up a bit straighter, "I need you, Cyborg, and Beast Boy to scour the city for anything about Slade."

"Slade?"

"Brian told me that's who he was working for."

"Brain?"

She rolled her eyes, "I thought you were supposed to be as good a detective as Robin! Red-X, you dolt! Who else have I been talking to for the past half hour?"

Speedy glared at her.

Raven glared back.

The doors to the rec-room opened and Cyborg walked in, "Hey, Raven! You seen the hard copy of Red-X's file? I need it to-" he stopped when he saw the staring match. "Aw, comon' you two! Don't be like this already!"

"Like what?" they asked in unison as they turned their glares on the robotic Titan.

"Hey! Don't be like that to me either!" he walked over and pushed them apart a few steps, "Chill."

"Right... whatever." Raven rubbed her eyes, "Just... the three of you hit the streets and look for clues. I want every low life in the city questioned. Find any big baddies still at large, kick over their rocks and beat answers out of them. I want to know how Slade survived, where he is, and what he wants with the Arcana. Got it?" she lowered her hands and pinned Speedy with a steely eye.

"Clear as day, Raven." Speedy returned her stare and saluted.

"Good. Jinx and I have work to do here, but as soon as we're done, we'll try digging up anything on the computers."

"Good idea." Speedy nodded, relaxing now, "Did we ever figure out what his real name was?"

"No, but I'm sure Robin can dig it up at the Batcave if he really tried. It'll give him something to do to make him feel like he's helping to catch Slade too. Thanks for the idea."

"Any time. I have to get changed into my uniform. Where am I crashing?"

"Well, our guest room kind of just became Jinx's, so I guess Robin's room is yours for now."

"Okay." he turned to Cyborg, who looked absolutely bewildered, "Meet me back down here in ten. Page Beast Boy for me."

"I'll uh... come with you. I have some questions." Cyborg glanced at Raven, then hurried off after Speedy.

Raven watched them go, then transported herself to her room. She looked over at her bed and saw Jinx laying on top of Beast Boy. They were making out.

"I thought I told you to get him out of my room." she said in an icy tone as she tossed off her robe and walked to her closet.

"I tried, but he's just too damn sexy to remove him from bed..." Jinx giggled.

"We have a super villain to track down and lock up. Please get serious." Raven started digging through the clothes in her closet and came up with her standard leotard. Blue just didn't seem right anymore. She would have to change the color.

"Okay, we're going." Beast Boy said as he pushed Jinx up off of him and stood up out of bed. He grabbed his pants and pulled them on, then the rest of his clothes, and walked to the door. "You coming Jinx?"

"No, I'll take a shower in here, then Raven and I have to work on uniforms. I'll see you later."

"Okay. See ya' Rae!"

"Report to Speedy! He has your orders!"

"Okay! Sheesh!" and he walked out.

"He's so damn sexy when he's irritated at you." Jinx gushed.

"Is he sexy when he's inside out? Because I can do that if he's going to distract you like this all the time." Raven stepped out of her closet and tossed a tight black top at Jinx, "Try that. Your boobs are smaller than mine, so it might actually cover your stomach."

* * *

Robin and Starfire arrived on the scene to find the area around the bank in chaos. Five men with automatic weapons were shooting at anyone who came within fifty yards of them, and the few police officers that were there were pinned down.

As he hurled down the street on the Batcycle, Robin quickly picked out a blonde woman wearing a dark outfit hiding behind the shell of a blown up car. He formulated a plan quickly.

"Up, Star! Wait for my signal to attack!"

The Tameranian didn't need telling twice. She left the back of the bike and flew straight up and across the street to high cover. Robin pulled the throttle down and flew past the gunman, leaping off the motorcycle and executing a perfect flip to land neatly behind the car with the blonde woman.

"Black Canary?" he asked with an extended hand.

"Of course. Nice to meet you again, Robin."

"Nice to have you around. We would have been watching this on the evening news if you hadn't alerted us."

"Who was the girl?"

"That was Starfire." he pulled off his helmet, "Okay, I've got a plan, but for this to work, we're going to have to time it exactly right."

"Let's hear it." Canary said and leaned in to hear him better.

* * *

Speedy tossed his bag on Robin's bed and pulled off his shirt, "What's up, Cy?" he asked the robotic Titan who had followed him into the room.

"Just wondering what was up with you and Raven." Cyborg shut the door and arched an eyebrow at the blonde haired young man.

"What? We always fight like that." he shrugged, "I mean, she doesn't really like me all that much." he tossed his shirt aside and started digging for his uniform in his bag.

"I dunno man, I was picking up some serious tension between you two."

"Yeah, like I said, we argue a lot."

"I mean like, sexual tension."

Speedy stopped pulling off his pants and looked up at Cyborg like his head was on backwards, "The hell are you talking about?"

"You two were bitching at each other one minute, then the next you're all agreeable and stuff. 'Good idea!' this and 'Will do, Rae!' that... you two seemed like you were crushing all over each other." Cyborg smirked at him, "You like her don't you?"

"Dude, she's hot, okay? I saw her naked this morning, and she's like... wow." he smiled at the memory and yanked his pants on the rest of the way, "And now that she's gotten over the whole depressed all the time thing, she's actually kind of pleasant."

"You _are _crushing on her!"

Speedy grinned as he smoothed his mask on over his eyes, "Guess I can't deny it. I kind of like the new Raven."

"She seemed to like you too... but I think she has a thing going on with Jinx." Cy shrugged.

"Really? I thought Rae was straight."

"Well, maybe she's bi. We know she's slept with a few guys..."

The door opened then, and Beast Boy stepped in, "This is the best morning, ever." he stated and nodded as if it was fact.

"Okay... why?" Speedy arched an eyebrow.

"You are no longer looking at Beast Boy... today, I'm Beast Man!" he puffed out his chest, witch looked fairly comical on his small frame.

"Why are you Beast Man this time?" Cyborg smirked at his friend, "Did you open a jar all by yourself or something?"

"Fuck you." Beast Boy replied in a conversational manner, "For your information, I stand before you, my virginity no longer intact."

"Get out." Speedy smirked.

"You had sex with Jinx?" Cyborg poked him in the shoulder.

"Why yes I did, my cybernetic friend! And get this, we asked, and she said yes, so Raven joined us."

There was a beat of silence in the room, then Cyborg smacked his head. Speedy's smirk went away, and he straightened up. Lifting his bow and quiver from the bed and slinging them over his shoulder, the red and yellow clad archer stalked towards the door. Beast Boy saw the look on his face and got out of his way as quickly as possible.

"Meet me downstairs in five. Be ready for a long day of patrol." Speedy glared at Beast Boy as he walked past, "No excuses."

"Dude, what's your deal? I didn't mean to-"

"That's an order, Beast _Boy_." Speedy glared harder, pulling himself up to his full height, a head and a half taller than the changeling.

"Who the hell put you in charge?" Beast Boy leaned up in Speedy's face.

Speedy leaned in right back, his nose an inch from Beast Boy's, "The Justice League of America." he replied, and after making sure the statement had sunk in, he turned on his heal and left.

Beast Boy watched him go, then turned to Cyborg, "Dude, what the hell was that all about?"

"He heads up Titan's East. As long as he's out here and Raven's in charge, he's her second." Cyborg shrugged, "We follow his orders."

"I mean what was up with the attitude? The guy almost bit my head off for trying to apologize for _whatever_ it was that pissed him off in the first place!"

"Just before you walked in, we were talking about Raven. The two of them... they seem to kind of... be developing a thing. I think it was always there, you know?"

"What?" Beast Boy looked totally confused.

"They always argued and fought before, but I think it was just a way to cover up their mutual attraction. He's sweet on her, and now that she's over her emotional problems, she's starting to become sweet on him."

"No way, dude!" Beast Boy shook his head, "They fight like cat's and dogs!" he morphed quickly between the two animals to emphasize his point.

"I know, but... you weren't there man. They were... showing respect for each other. I've never seen them do that before."

"Shit." Beast Boy thunked his head into the door frame, "Why do I always say the wrong things without meaning to? First Star runs off because I blab about Batgirl, and now Speedy's all pissed at me because he's crushing on Raven, who I just happened to brag about having sex with last night."

"You really had sex with Raven?" Cyborg looked shocked, "I thought you were kidding around!"

"No! She and Jinx and I had sex for about two hours this morning!" Beast Boy grinned, "Dude, it was awesome!"

"Yeah, tell Speedy all about it. I'm sure he'd like to take notes."

"Shit... right, right. I'll keep my big mouth shut today."

"Good idea." Cyborg looked at him critically.

"What?" Beast Boy squirmed under his friend's scrutiny.

"You're right. You'll be seventeen soon, and you're not really a Beast _Boy_ any more. Beast Teen sounds way too stupid, and Beast Man is just... dumb."

"You think so? I thought it was kind of cool."

"No, we need a new name for you. We can't exactly call you Garfield."

"I told you never to call me that, ever again." Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, "Not funny dude."

"How about just Gar until we come up with something else?" Cyborg held up his hands in a defensive manner.

"That's fine, but no Garfield."

"Okay, okay..." Cyborg walked to the door and stepped out into the hall way, "...Garfield."

He took off running as Beast Boy lunged for him.

* * *

"That's crazy." Black Canary shook her head, "But we'll do it, 'cause it's more than I have to go on right now."

Robin smirked, "Trust me. I've done this before."

"Then you're crazy." Canary tensed her legs, "Whenever you're ready, Boy Wonder."

Robin flipped open his T-Comp and spoke into it, "Starfire, twinkle for me." He looked up across the street as bullets tore into the side of the car he and the blond woman were hiding behind. A brief green flash near the fifteenth floor told him where his girlfriend was. "Good. When I give the signal, I need you to blast the guns out their hands.

"All of them?" she sounded confused.

"Will that be a problem?"

"Not if I have about fifteen seconds. Can you stay alive that long?"

"Maybe. Shave it down to thirteen for me?"

"I'll do my best." her voice was coming through determined now. He knew she wouldn't let him down.

"That's all I ever ask from you." he glanced over the top of the car, "Okay, here we go." and he leapt over it and charged the gunman.

They were smart enough to not all be reloading at once, so several of them pointed their guns and began to fire at him. Robin was no stranger to dodging bullets though, having grown up on the mean streets of Gotham with Batman, who had more or less tossed him right into the line of fire from the get go. Not a single shot came near as he hurled head long at the would-be robbers.

Reaching the gunman out front, he slapped the barrel of the gun aside, "Star, now!" he shouted as loud as he could.

A hail of green starbolts rained from above taking guns out of the hands of the bank robbers and raising a swarm of curses from them. Not a single man was left with a gun.

Suddenly, the odds looked much better for Robin, who'd fought tougher crooks in larger numbers than this before. Having Black Canary on his side, and Starfire quickly descending from her lofty perch made this battle almost one sided.

As Canary came up beside him and punched the first man she drew near in the jaw, he went to work, subduing the eight men as quickly as possible, before any of them could retrieve a gun.

* * *

Across the street from where Robin was pummeling the daylights out of the crooks, a thirteen year old boy watched in fascination. He'd been walking by when the bullets had started flying, and had found cover behind a dumpster in an ally way.

Something about the way the Boy Wonder had moved when he dodged the bullets seemed familiar. Now the young man was studying Robin's every move, trying to place where he'd seen this particular style of fighting before.

Punch and kick at the same time. That couldn't be a normal style could it? Was everything the raven haired vigilantly did improvised? A spin kick into a sweep, taking down three men in half a second. Defiantly a form of karate. Some kung-fu chops, followed by a swift uppercut that seemed more like a boxing move than a martial art.

Suddenly, Robin ducked a punch from one of the robbers and jumped back, doing a back flip as he did. His feet caught the man in the chin, and he was bent in a 'C' for a moment before whipping his legs back down into a light crouch.

With that move, it clicked. The young man flashed back to seven years before, when he'd been attending the circus with his parents. That night, he'd seen the most amazing performer he'd ever laid eyes on.

Dick Grayson, of the Flying Grayson's. That night stood out vividly in his mind, because that was the night the Grayson's had fallen to their deaths due to faulty equipment.

He'd seen young Richard perform that exact flip, a trademark of his, and land it perfectly, just as Robin had done now.

As the strange flying girl tossed the last of the robbers into a heap, the young man stood up and looked around. No cops harassing them yet.

If he was going to do this, he'd have to do it now.

* * *

"Crazy." Black Canary shook her head and dusted off her hands, "Well, thanks for the assist Robin, but I have to get going now. I have work to do."

"Don't step on too many toes, Canary. Batman doesn't like outsiders operating in his city without his approval." Robin glared at her.

"I'll be good. Later." and the blonde took off at a light jog.

"She seemed quite... hip." Starfire tried her hand at slang.

"She's one of the youngest members of the JSA who's not a Titan. Only just twenty."

"I see." Star watched her run off, then cut down an ally, "I am glad she informed us of this robbery so we could stop it. These men were quite violent."

"She was probably just trying to make good for Batman so he wouldn't just kick her right out of Gotham."

"Do you really think so?" the Tameranian's eyes grew wide.

"Yeah. Wont work though. Batman doesn't like _anyone _messing around in his town."

"Hey!" a voice called from the street in front of the bank, "Robin!"

They turned to see a young man, maybe twelve or thirteen, jogging up to them, "Can I help you?" Robin asked. He wasn't in the mood for signing autographs today.

"Yeah..." the young man reached them and stopped to catch his breath for a moment. Suddenly, he straightened up and his hand shot out at Robin's face, reaching for his mask.

The grab was quick, and the kid obviously had potential, if not skill, but it still seemed painfully slow to someone with Robin's reflexes. He grabbed the young man's wrist before his fingers were even within a half a foot of his face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Robin asked with an annoyed tone as he shoved the boys hand away, "I don't have time for this. Star, let's go."

As he turned to walk to where his bike had skidded to a halt after he'd jumped off of it, the young man grabbed his cape, "I know you're Dick Grayson."

Robin whirled about and snatched his cape from the kids grasp. He was glad his mask hid how wide his eyes probably were, "What's your name, kid?"

"Tim. Tim Drake."

"Well Tim, I don't know where you got the idea that I'm the ward of some air head businessman, but I'm not. Now go home."

"You seem pretty upset for someone who claims I'm wrong, and I saw that flip. It's one of your trademark moves. I saw you do it seven years ago, the night your parents-"

Robin took a step forward and held up a threatening fist, "Don't you even say it."

Tim backed off a few steps, his eyes wide, "You _are_ Dick Grayson!"

"Fuck." Robin said with feeling. First Kia, now this kid. Why were civilians suddenly getting the better of him?

"Robin... we must go." Starfire took his arm and tugged on it, "Leave him alone. No one will believe such a foolish story."

"Even if it's true." Tim nodded.

"It's not-" Robin started, but Tim cut him off.

"It is."

They glared at each other for a moment, then Robin's hand shot out, "You're coming with me."

"What! No!"

"You buttered the bread kid, now eat it."

"You can't just... the cops..."

But the police were just starting to show up, and the few officers that were already on the scene were still approaching.

"Now." Robin ordered and yanked on Tim's arm.

Drake gulped and walked with Robin over to the Batcycle.

* * *

Johnny Rancid opened his eyes weakly and looked around the small room he'd been staying in for the past several months as best he could without moving his head. Moving his head made it pound even more, and with a hangover like the one he had now, one didn't do anything to make it worse.

He stopped wondering what had woken him up so early (it was only noon for Christ's sake...) when his eyes fell upon a pair of black boots. Following the boots up the legs attached to them, he saw a young man, clad in a red, black, and yellow sleeveless uniform smiling down at him.

"Hello, Johnny." Speedy smiled an evil little grin.

"Hey." Rancid managed to croak out just before he found himself being lifted from the smelly old mattress he was sleeping on and hurled bodily across the room.

The large man hit the wall and fell to the floor with an almighty crash, sending up clouds of dust. "I'd say that you have a nice place, but really, this is a shit hole." Speedy walked over and lifted the groaning man to his feet, "How do you live like this dude?"

"What the hell do the Titan's want with me?" Rancid asked in a slurred tone. He was still a little drunk.

"We're looking for someone." Speedy shoved him across the room and he stumbled backwards until he hit something large and metal. Looking up, he saw the glowing red eye of Cyborg.

The robotic Titan spoke slowly so Johnny's beer dulled brain would process his question, "You heard anything about Slade recently, Johnny?"

"Wha...? No man, you guys dropped him into a lake of fuckin' LAVA." Johnny was regaining focus now, "I mean, who lives through that?"

"So nothing at all then?" Cyborg asked with a frown.

"I told you man, no!" the dark haired biker stepped away from Cyborg and shook his head, "I think you guys need to fuck off, before I get angry."

"Beast Boy," Speedy inspected his nails, "see if you can jog his memory a bit?"

"Wha-" Johnny didn't get any more out as Beast Boy suddenly appeared above him, morphing from a spider clinging to the ceiling into a bangle tiger. The four hundred pound cat slammed the biker into the floor, raising even more dust into the air. He pressed his claws down into Johnny's shoulders, drawing just a hint of blood.

Rancid looked up at the snarling green tiger, his eyes wide. He began to stutter out a confession, "Well, now that you mention it, I did get a bit of mail a little while ago... something about a big payoff for anyone who wanted to join up and help take out the Titans..." he gulped as the tiger moved it's teeth closer to his face, "It was signed with a 'S'!"

"That's helpful. BB, if you would." Speedy stopped inspecting his nails as Beast Boy stepped off of Rancid and morphed back into himself. He glared down at the half drunk man with disgust.

Johnny was just about to say something to the green changeling when an arrow buried it's self in the floor between his spread legs. He looked down at it for a moment, then up at Speedy, his eyes wide.

"I missed on purpose, trust me." the archer already had another arrow nocked, "No one finds out about this little chat, got it?"

"Yeah." Johnny nodded.

"Good." The arrow went back in the quiver, "We'll just show ourselves out then."

Once all three Titans had left, Johnny crawled back over to his mattress and pulled his ratty blanket over his head again, swearing to himself that he was going to give up drinking as soon as he ran out of beer.

* * *

"How about this?" Jinx asked, twirling slowly for Raven.

The psion looked up from where she was flipping through one of her spell books, searching for a color change spell, and gave her friend's outfit a critical look. She had her hair pushed up into it's usual two points, and a touch of dark makeup gave her face a sharp, exotic feel. Her top was the black tank that Raven had thrown at her earlier, and she was wearing black leather pants with the Titan 'T' sewn into the right leg, just above the knee. She wore calf high combat boots with more straps and buckles than was really necessary, and a Titan belt buckle topped off the ensemble nicely.

"Good enough." Raven nodded and went back to her browsing.

"Oh for crying out loud, Raven." Jinx walked over, "What color do you want?"

"White."

The pink haired girl eyed her friend, "You sure?"

"Yes." Raven thought back to her self actualized image in her mindscape, "Yes, definitely."

"_Altrus, defidein, grartorinum!" _Jinx said as she held her hand out over Raven's head. The color seeped away from the cloak and leotard she wore, and her boots lost their tint a moment later. "There. If you need magic done in the future, please ask the resident sorceress. I know you're good, Rae, but let's face it; I'm better."

"I don't draw my power directly from magic. I use psionics more." Raven shrugged, "I just haven't had the practice you have."

"Which is strange, considering your demonic heritage. Why is that?"

"I have both powers, but the psionic ones came easier because I had to keep such a tight control over my mind. Now that I don't have to, I'll probably start expanding my knowledge of magic a bit more." She glanced over at her book shelf where a black bound book with the name _Malchior_ printed down the spine sat, "White magic, preferably."

"Can't help you too much there. I know almost all black or utilitarian magic." Jinx shrugged, "Uniforms, check. Now what?"

"We hit the web. If Slade is back in town, he'll be leaving digital footprints somewhere. We need to find them."

"Alright. See you down in the rec room then?"

"Yeah, I'll be along in a bit." Raven pulled out her T-Comp, "I need to call Robin."

Jinx waved over her shoulder as she stepped out of the room. Raven watched her go, then flipped open the communicator, "Raven to Robin."

* * *

Tim Drake landed on his rear hard, knocking the air out of his lungs. He gasped for breath for a moment, then sat up and glared at Robin, who had just unceremoniously knocked him off the batcycle.

They were in a forest somewhere. Tim didn't know where exactly because Robin had been driving so fast that he'd kept his face down the whole time to avoid wind burn. The ground was cold and muddy.

"Alright Timmy, start talking."

"About what? I already told you how I figured it out. You have to know what conclusions I'm drawing from all of this."

"What conclusions?" Robin arched a corner of his mask.

"About Batman. And Bruce Wayne."

"Bruce Wayne? The guy hardly has time to balance his check book, let alone run around Gotham in a bat suit."

"Liar." It was a statement of fact, not an accusation.

Robin glared.

Tim glared back.

Starfire stepped in between them and knelt down next to Tim, "Friend Timothy, you must understand that no one can know about Richard. He relies on his image as Robin the Boy Wonder to gain a psychological advantage over his enemies. It's what makes him such an effective crime fighter."

"I never said I was going to tell anyone..." Tim muttered and looked away.

"You must not, ever." Starfire placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head towards her. A blush crept up his neck. "Not even if you are tortured for the information. None of Robin's friends or allies who know of his real identity would give that information to an enemy."

Tim's eyes grew wide for a moment, then narrowed back down into determination, "Then I promise I wont either."

Star stood up and stepped away from him, giving Robin a meaningful look. He nodded and reached down, grabbing Tim by the shoulder and hauling him to his feet. "Thanks-" Drake didn't get the rest of his sentence out before Robin slugged him in the gut, blasting him back off his feet.

Gasping for breath and curled up in the fetal position, Tim could hardly struggle as Robin grabbed him and hauled him up again, this time belting him across the side of the head, sending him to the ground once more.

Starfire watched, knowing _why_ this had to be done, but still not caring for it at all. This was how Robin operated. This was his test.

"What's your father's name?" Robin growled.

Tim, his brain scrambled, still caught on. He glared at the masked man.

"What's your father's name?!?" Robin shouted, grabbing the younger boy's arm and twisting it behind his back. Tim maintained his silence, even as his arm was pushed to the breaking point.

"I'll stop this as soon as you tell me what your dad's name is, Timmy."

"Eat it, Boy Blunder."

"You sound like the Joker." Robin twisted Tim's thumb back a bit more, drawing a cry of pain, "I don't like the Joker."

"Me either." Tim gasped out. Robin frowned and finally dropped the panting boy to the ground. Starfire stepped forward and helped him to move his arm back around to the front of his body, and bent it for him several times to work the bones and muscles back into their usual places. "You did not have to be so hard on him, Robin. He's a boy, not a hardened criminal."

"Do you think _my _enemies would care who he is? Do you think Slade would care?" Robin growled at his girlfriend.

She sighed, "I suppose not. Are you feeling better friend Tim?"

"Yeah... thanks." he blushed again and looked away from her.

Smiling, Star walked back over to Robin, "Now what?"

Robin smiled back at her and strode to where Tim was still sitting on the cold ground. He offered his hand, "No tricks this time, I promise."

Tim stared at the hand for several seconds before finally taking it and getting to his feet. Robin brushed some dirt off of the boys shoulder and slapped him on the back, "You're going to have a hell of a time explaining to your parents how you got that black eye."

"Shit." Tim probed the tender area under his eye a little, "Did you have to hit me so hard?"

"Yes." Robin shrugged, "Had to know you could take it. This is a rough life we lead, and if you're going to be part of it, then you'd better start getting used to it."

"Wait a second... who said I wanted to be part of your crusade against evil? I'm still in junior high for crying out loud!"

"You're older than I was when I started." Robin shrugged again, "And you kind of volunteered yourself when you came to me and started going on about my real name. Sorry Tim, but you're going to be a contact from now on. I'll talk to Batman about what else you might be useful for, but for now, I think you should worry about how you're getting home."

"Wait... where are we?"

"About two miles outside Gotham City limits. You don't live far do you?"

"Only about twenty miles or so." Tim glared.

"Better find a ride then. We're too busy to cart you all the way back into town."

"What?!? You can't just leave me out here!"

But Robin and Starfire were already getting back on the Batcycle, "Sorry Tim." Robin kicked the engine over and sped off through the woods, towards what Tim assumed was the road that had brought them here.

As he watched the dust settle, Tim sighed. Glancing at his watch he saw that he had three hours before his dad expected him back home.

Eyes narrowing and a grin growing on his face, he resolved to not fail another of Robin's challenges.

* * *

A green sparrow landed on the flagpole of The First National Bank of Jump City and let out a trill. It's head darted around, taking in all of it's surroundings. It nodded once, sure that there were no threats in the area, then lifted it's wings and took off again. Flying down the street a short ways, the green sparrow caught a hint of movement out of the corner of it's eye.

Swooping down and left, Beast Boy changed back into himself in mid-air, falling several feet to a rooftop below. An arrow with a rope attached to it shot through the space the sparrow had been just a moment before. It embedded it's self in the roof next to Beast Boy's hand, and a moment later, Speedy zip lined down the rope.

"Dude, not funny." Beast Boy glared.

"Sorry." Speedy shrugged as he picked up the arrow and re-strung it in his bow, "We still have a lot of ground to cover, Beast Boy. No slacking."

"Dude, seriously, talk to me here." Speedy turned from where he was about to shoot the arrow to the next building, and arched a corner of his mask at the changeling. "Look man, I'm sorry I pissed you off this morning... I didn't know you were sweet on Rae, or I never would have said anything-"

"It's fine." Speedy's shoulders sagged, "I'm more mad at myself really. Dating inside the team can only lead to trouble. I'm sure you and Jinx will have a grand time of it, but I don't think Raven and I would work well."

"Come on, dude... don't sell yourself short. You two would be perfect for each other." Beast Boy walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, his legs dangling towards the street fifteen stories below, "You can both separate work from play well enough."

Speedy joined the changeling at the edge of the roof, sitting down as well, "Yeah, but... I don't know. I'm nervous about starting anything with her."

"Maybe that's because you really like her... she's not just another fling like all the other girls."

"There's only been..." Speedy tried to count in his head for a moment, then looked down at the street, "Shit, there has been a lot of other girls, hasn't there?" he mumbled.

"So maybe you, you know... are falling for Raven."

"What's that mean?" Speedy arched his eyebrow again, bringing the corner of his mask up as well.

"Maybe you're falling in love dude... it's been known to happen." Beast Boy shrugged. Speedy was silent for several moments, then opened his mouth to say something.

An explosion cut him off and both of their heads snapped around to the West. A plume of smoke was rising in the air from beyond the buildings, and screams could be heard below.

"Shit." Speedy jumped up, and just then, his T-Comp started bleeping. Snapping it out, he spoke, "Talk to me, Cy."

"I'm down by the docks, and I've got problems!"

"What kind of problems?"

"Trident kinds of problems! He's got about a million clones of himself tearing apart the loading docks! I need back up!"

"Fuck me." Speedy glanced over at the smoke, then back East towards the docks, "Beast Boy, go help Cy. I'll see what the explosion was and call Raven. We're going to need the girls out here."

"On my way, Cy!" Beast Boy called, and became a hawk. He flew off to the East, and Speedy jumped off the building, firing his grappling arrow off to the West.

* * *

Robin and Starfire had just pulled into the Batcave when Robin's T-Comp went off. He pulled in out and heard Raven calling.

"I'm here Raven. What's going on?"

"Jinx and I are hitting the web looking for Slade. Can you do me a favor while you're there and you have access to a much better computer system than I do?"

"What do you need?" he asked as he glanced over at Star. She smiled and waved as she flew to the showers.

"I want to know Slade's real name."

"Check." he reached out and grabbed Star's hand, holding her back for a moment, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. Oh, hey..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Speedy likes white?"

"What?" Robin stared at her blankly, "If this has something to do with the white hood-"

"Never mind." Raven got a slight blush in her cheeks, then composed herself quickly, "I'll talk to you when you find that name for me."

"Right. Robin out." he snapped his T-Comp shut and turned to his girlfriend, "The showers are this way."

"The woman's shower is over there, though." she pointed to the door with the bow on the bat symbol.

"Good point. Bruce wont walk in on us in that shower..." Star smiled devilishly as Robin lifted her up off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him as he pushed through the door.

* * *

Speedy dove behind a dumpster and rolled to the other side, drawing an arrow in the process. He fired as soon as he was back on his feet, and the shaft flew straight and true...

Glancing harmlessly off of Cinderblock's chest. The gigantic rock-man chuckled and hurled a car at the dumpster.

Speedy jumped away just as the car hit and exploded right behind him. He shouted in pain and frustration as he was blasted almost fifteen yards away. Landing on his left shoulder, he rolled up to his feet and ran full out until he was around a corner.

Cinderblock had made a mess of the intersection at Forth and Main, right in the middle of lunch time traffic. His preferred mode of attack today was throwing cars and trucks, and without busting out the heavy damage arrows, Speedy was having a hard time slowing the brute down.

Yanking out his T-Comp, he spoke into in loudly enough to be heard over the roar of flames and the crunching of metal, "Raven! Come in!"

The four seconds she took to respond felt like hours, "Raven here. Go ahead Speedy."

"Have you two been doing your nails or what?" he shouted, "Check the City Status Reports!"

There was a pause, then Raven started cursing. After a few moments of that, she spoke, "I'm sending Jinx down to help you out, and I'll head over to the park."

"What's going on in the park?" Speedy glanced around his corner, then ducked back as the drive train of a Festiva glanced off the wall next to him.

"Killer Moth has unleashed a horde of gigantic emperor butterflies. They're eating every tree in Westfield Park."

"Shit. Well, if Jinx is all I've got coming, I'm going to have to use a bit more force here."

"Try to minimize property damage, Speedy."

"Will do." Speedy nodded, "Just get her down here as soon as you can."

"She's already left of the R-Cycle."

"Robin's going to be pissed when he finds out she took his bike."

"I've already stolen in since he's been gone. Don't worry about it."

Speedy just chuckled, "Good times, huh?"

"Good times. I'll see you back at the Tower after we clean up the city."

"See you then." They both signed off and Speedy snapped his T-Comp back into his belt pouch. Pulling out a high-powered particle detonation arrow, he strung it and turned the corner. Firing it and blasting the F-150 Cinderblock had thrown at him to pieces, he pulled out a lower powered shock-wave arrow and shot it all in the same motion.

Cinderblock took the arrow to the chest again, but this one blasted him back off his feet. Quick to recover, the gigantic rock-man was back up in just a few seconds. Long enough for Speedy to close in though, and as Cinderblock got back to his feet, the archer's black boot slammed into his head, smashing him back several steps, and making him trip over a car.

"Get here quick Jinx." Speedy growled as his jumped up and kicked at Cinderblock again.

* * *

Cyborg hurled another Trident clone back into the sea and turned quickly to slug the one that was sneaking up behind him. As that one went down, a huge green Tyrannosaurs stomped around the corner, chasing several more Tridents as then fled from it's massive jaws.

"Good timing Gar!" Cyborg shouted. He transformed his arm into it's sonic cannon form and started blasting as the Tridents swarmed.

Beast Boy popped up next to him a moment latter, "Jeez, dude! There's got to be like, a billion of him here!"

"We need to hold them off until Speedy and Rae can get here!" Cyborg blasted again, "A little help would be nice!"

"Right, right." Beast Boy rolled his eyes and became an elephant.

* * *

Speedy hit the outside wall of Big Daddy's Barber Shop hard, and bounced down to the ground. Landing in a heap of arms and legs in the street, he groaned.

"Got a little too close that time..." he mumbled as he checked himself for injury. Three ribs busted. Not too bad.

"Okay, the gloves come off." Rolling to the side to avoid Cinderblock's fist as it slammed into the sidewalk where his head had just been, Speedy drew out an immolation arrow and jabbed it into the giant rock-man's leg.

Cinderblock looked down at the arrow as Speedy rolled to his feet and dashed away as quickly as he could. The shaft spun around three times, then clicked.

A fireball erupted around Cinderblock and he howled in pain and frustration. Charging out of the inferno, he was met with a wave of pink energy to the face. The giant slipped in a spot of oil slick left over from a car he'd smashed and landed flat out on his back.

Jinx jumped down from the top of the low building across the street from the barber shop and landed next to Speedy, who rubbed his side ruefully.

"Took you long enough." he mumbled.

"Better late than never. Traffic on the West River Bridge is a bitch this time of day."

"Yeah, tell me about it. And there's always some ass-hole who thinks leaning on his horn will make it move faster."

"Uh huh. You hurt bad?"

"Nothing Raven can't heal up latter." Speedy pulled out another arrow, "He's getting up."

"Oh." Jinx turned to see that Cinderblock was indeed standing, though barely. His right leg had something of a crater blown in it, and his whole body looked like he'd walked through a napalm storm. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"Nothing he wont live through." Speedy fired his arrow at the giant's face and the explosion knocked him back a few steps, "Let's take him down."

"I'll go up," Jinx winked at the archer, "if you go down."

"You got it, you randy bitch."

"Grrowwr." Jinx made a clawing motion with her hand and charged at the still recovering Cinderblock. Speedy was behind her in an instant, and as Jinx jumped up, he held his bow out in front of him.

The sorceress's black combat boot slammed into Cinderblock's face, sending him reeling back. Speedy hooked his bow behind the giant's knees and pulled with all his might, pulling his feet out from under him.

Pink energy lanced around Cinderblock as he hit the ground, and the street gave way under him, causing him to hang headfirst, halfway down into the subway. He didn't move.

"Subdued." Jinx nodded from where she stood next to the hole.

"Well done." Speedy nodded and smiled at her, "You're starting to get the hang of this super-hero thing."

"I'm learning from the best in the world." Jinx smiled back and then they turned to greet the SWAT vans that were pulling up.

* * *

Killer Moth looked on in dismay as his butterfly army was being wiped out rather quickly by the white clad young woman floating fifty feet off the ground in the middle of the park. The new, prettier generation of his mutant insects bad been a birthday present to Kitty, but now he was wishing (not for the first time) that he'd had more backbone and just told his daughter 'no'.

Raven lazily swung a huge slab of concert around with her powers, using it like a gigantic fly swatter. Four more of the butterflies met a squishy end as it slammed down.

"You know, I like this generation better." Raven smiled as she waved her swatter around again with one hand and blasted several butterflies back with the other, "They're far less aggressive."

"Damnit." Killer Moth reached into his utility belt and pulled out a grappler, which he fired at Raven. The cord wrapped around her ankle while she was busy fending off another wave of butterflies, and he retracted it quickly.

Raven was waiting for him. As he reached out with a tazer to blast her out of the air, her other foot came around and slammed into his face. Losing his grip on the cord, he fell the fifty feet down and landed in a bush.

Sighing, this psion flew down to make sure he was still alive. Finding a pulse and the controller he used to command the butterflies, she stood up with a nod. A quick turn of the dial and the butterflies settled on the grass for a nap, and a quick wave of her hand and Killer Moth was stabilized for the time being.

Pulling out her T-Comp she spoke in to it, "Speedy, Jinx. Report."

"All done here." Speedy replied, "Baddie in custody, and we're headed down to the pier to help Cy and Gar finish up with the Tridents."

"Good. I've taken care of Killer Moth, so I'll meet you two down there in-" Raven was cut off as something slammed into her side, sending her flying across the park and landing in a fountain. Splashing up out of the water, she glared around until her eyes fell on the leather clad body of a man who had a spider for a head.

"Raven!" she looked down at her hand, amazed that she'd managed to keep hold of her T-Comp.

"Fang just showed up. I'll be busy for a little bit longer." Snapping the communicator shut, she put it away and stood up in the knee deep water.

"You know," Fang looked her up and down, "I like the white outfit better."

Raven looked down at herself and noticed that the white showed a bit more when it was soaking wet than the blue had. Blushing she looked back up at Fang, "Well, if you want a piece of this, you're going to have to earn it."

"Right, like I'm going to earn anything from you."

"Red-X did." she purred as she stepped out of the fountain.

"Really? I'll have to ask him about it next time I see him."

"You've never met him, and you know it." she smirked, "He's way out of your league, Fang."

With a howl of rage, Fang spit a stream of paralytic venom at her, and she jumped to the side to avoid it.

* * *

Starfire had her back pressed against the wall of the shower, and her legs hooked up over Robin's arms as he pumped into her. She hadn't stopped crying out for the past five minutes as orgasm after orgasm rolled over her.

It was several minutes more before they finished, and then another fifteen before they were done washing each other. After they had dressed, Star looked at her boyfriend fondly as he ran a hand through his hair, having just put some of Babs's hair gel in it.

"Perhaps a nap is in order? Then a quick dinner before we go to meet Harley at the bar tonight?"

"Good idea. I'll see if Alfred can have something ready for us before we head out." Robin smiled back at her and reached out with his right hand. She took it and they walked, hand in hand back out into the Bat-Cave.

As they passed the main computer on the way to the doors that led back up to Wayne Manor, the chair in front of it swiveled around. Bruce sat in the chair, wearing his Batman uniform, minus the cape and cowl.

Robin and Starfire both froze under his glare, and a blush started creeping up both of their necks. "The Bat-Cave is for work and rest, not for your sex games." Both of the teenagers blushed straight to the roots of their hair as Batman continued, "Never again, Dick, or I take away the mask."

At that, Robin straightened up and looked like he was about to say something, but Star put a hand on his arm, "We are both very sorry, Batman."

"Never again." he repeated, "If you're in the mood to work now, Robin, you've been receiving a level one security alert from your team in Jump City for the past half hour."

"What?" Robin dashed up the steps to the computer and hit several keys, bringing up the message. A few key strokes latter and he was looking at the City Status Report from Titan's Tower, "Looks like Slade is making his move."

"Slade?" Batman arched an eyebrow.

"He's... really bad. I'd say Joker bad, just not as insane. And he's good... I've never beat his in a straight fight."

"Not surprising." Batman shrugged, "I've never met him, but I hear he's one of the best martial artists in the world."

"Wait," Robin turned to Batman, "You're heard of Slade?"

Bruce frowned at his protegee, "Yes. He's the best assassin in the world. Or one of the best. David Cain gives him a run for his money."

"David... wait, do you have a file on Slade?" Starfire floated up and joined them as Robin looked hopeful.

"Computer," Batman waited for the blip that signaled the computer had acknowledged him, "bring up the Criminal Record File for Slade Wilson."

The screen was suddenly filled with a list of hits, a picture of Slade, and a string of alias's longer than any Robin had ever seen. Batman spoke without even looking at the screen, "His professional name is Deathstroke The Terminator. British ex-military, ex-MI5. He's never done a job for less than ten million, and he only takes on jobs that will provide a challenge."

"He was hired to destroy Jump City." Robin breathed.

"No..." Starfire shook her head, "His preoccupation has always been with us, the Titans. You especially."

"So he was either contracted to take out the Titans, or to take out me." Robin's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe." Batman shook his head, "He might have been contracted to convert you," Robin's head snapped up and he glared at Bruce, "or he may have been hired to make the Titan's look bad. He's not just an assassin. He's a problem solver." Batman met Robin's glare, "And he's good at it."

"You knew about him being in Jump. You knew he was trying to convert me."

"Yes."

"And you still did nothing?" Robin shouted, gritting his teeth.

"You handled it." Batman had the perfect poker face.

Robin hated him for it. "I'll be upstairs." he said quietly, "Star and I have a lot of work to do tonight."

"I'll stake out the bar and-"

"No." Robin shook his head as he turned his back on Batman, "I don't want your help anymore. I'll handle the Joker case. You do... something else."

"Robin!" Batman shouted after his former side-kick, but Robin kept walking. "Robin!" he shouted again as he stood up.

The door of the elevator that led back up to Wayne manor shut behind Robin, his back still turned to his mentor.

Starfire stood off to the side, her eyes brimming with tears as she witnessed the forming of a rift between father and son.

* * *

Closing Notes: It's shorter than it was suppose to be. By about 3000 words or so. I had tons more planned for this chapter, but it's been so long since I updated, and it ended so well here that I just had to post it. I know, you guys mind so much, right? Heh.

* * *

Reviewers get cookies!

Heaven's Angel- Although the threesome in Study Lessons _is_ hot, I did not in fact steal it. I think I've mentioned it before, but this whole story is more or less planned out in my head. So right after dying, Raven gets to come back to life. That's just how it had to be for the story to work right. Red X still has a part to play, so the scenes with him had to be done now. Hope you liked this chapter!

Brogrmn- Your feedback after like, every chapter is awesome. The holidays were kinda' crappy for me, since I was sick the whole time, but hey, I'm back up and around now. Thanks for saying I have talent in the adult situations. I try. :)

AmethystAngel89- I aim to please. Hope this chapter lives up to what you've come to expect.

chickiidoo- You don't care if I kill ROBIN? COME ON! Robin is like, the best DC character EVER! 'Cept Jason Todd. He was a punk. But Dick and Tim? Come on!

HYPER CHICK- Still hyper I see. Well, the update wasn't soon, but it came. Better late then never, as Jinx pointed out earlier.

BeautyOfTheRose- I actually kicked around the idea of making Batman Slade in this story, just to screw with poor Robin even more, but decided against it and left Slade as his original comic book self. Deathstroke kicks ass yo.

Hisan- Jinx and Raven are a complicated pair in this story. Very sisterly, yet still attracted to each other. They kind of both realize that a relationship wouldn't work between them. It's like having a crush on your uber hot best friend.

NalaravatheRed- Speedy and Raven _would_ make a good couple, wouldn't they? :) Watch for more Red-X. He's not quite out of the story yet.

Bonekhan313- There you go. Update. I'm also glad you picked up on the underlying humor of the sex scenes and the 'serious' talk that Raven and X had. They were meant to be like that.

Stolen Valkyrie- Thanks for the tips (I DO re-read my stuff! I just don't catch EVERYTHING) and thanks for the praise. It's good to get some real constructive criticism and a pat on the head all in one review. You're awesome, so don't let anyone ever say you're not. One of my best reviewers! :)

NightWish13- Hope this chapter cleared up some of the pairings for you. They were supposed to be unclear up until this point, when I start to settle into the way they'll be for the rest of the story. Sorry about the leg cramp. This chapter was a thousand or so words shorter than the last one, so you should be fine this time. :)

StarryRavenFire- Rock on. Glad you're enjoying it. Raven does seem to get around a lot, doesn't she? As for Harley, expect to see her in the next chapter. I was supposed to get to her in this one, but I decided to post what I had and leave her for later.

Fripi- Red-X's background will be explored a little a later on. I'm settling Raven down soon, and if the foreshadowing in this chapter wasn't enough to tell you who she's gonna' end up with, then next chapter will clear that up. Oh, and longer reviews are better for me. I write long chapters, so long reviews are appropriate. And hey, if you can write decent, just mail me and I'll pitch you some ideas. I've got TONS, and no time to write ALL of them...

Jaina 12- Another chapter for your reading enjoyment. More Robin and Star, and more Speedy, though X didn't make it into this chapter. He'll be back later. Man, everyone likes Red-X...

sick with joy- I think Raven and Red-X will always have a 'thing' but never a real relationship in this story. And hey, what kind of Red-X isn't a baddie? He's a freakin' thief for crying out loud! He's supposed to be bad!

free the trees- Just a little scared? Well, we'll see what we can do about that... :)

ChaosChampion- Sorry about the nasty responses last time... I was feeling punchy that night. :) And as for Slade... watch and learn, friend. I have a talent for turning cliches into something you wouldn't expect. Blackfire wasn't really on my mind for this story, Brother Blood... don't know what happens with him yet, so I don't want to screw up the story line, and Rancid DID make an appearance in this chapter... I'm kind of going to be pulling out every bad guy I can in the next chapter or two, so look for lot's of good cameos and fights! Oh, and if the threesome sex scene was based on real life experience, I'd want my sex life too. Alas, I'm in a committed relationship (seven years!) and only have sex with one girl. The rest of the sex is based on real life experience though, so I can't complain. :)

Greg867- Sorry I haven't gotten back to you yet man. I've been busy. :( But I'm back now, so drop me a line, and I'll get back to you.

rochwen- Couldn't get any better? I still have AT LEAST three or four more chapters to go! Give me some credit here! Finale hasn't even come yet! :) So yeah, X will make his return later, as will his pancakes. Look for more emotion than battle in the next chapter, but I thought this one kicked some ass.

losernerd- You read them both right in a row? Damn. That must have taken a day or so. That's like... um, hold on... 97,535 words now. Almost 100,000! Wow! I write _a lot_! Keep looking to the LJ's, and review again! I like to hear from all you guys!

* * *

That's it for now. Check out my Live Journal for update news and discussion of the story!

* * *

Next Chapter: The Titans finish cleaning up Jump City and head home for a night of rest. Robin begins to question his standing with the Dark Knight, even as he and Starfire dive into their hunt for the Joker in earnest. Tim can't keep his nose out of trouble, Cyborg and Sarah are too cute, Jinx and Beast Boy are too funny, Robin and Starfire are in too deep, and Raven and Speedy are way too hot together. 


	8. Chapter 8

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fanfiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: Sorry for the HUGE delay folks. Class is kicking my ass this semester. Spring break is here though, so hopefully I'll be able to get some serious writing in. Hopefully. This chapter took so long for several reasons. First of course, was my class schedule coupled with my work hours. Second, it's one of those difficult transitional chapters that brings a lot of story lines together, and really seems to drag at points. The drag is necessary, but hard to write, and sometimes hard to read. Thirdly, this is a MONSTER of a chapter. Some 12,000 words long, it should keep you occupied for a little while at least while I write the next chapter.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans and don't plan to any time soon.

* * *

**Chapter Eight **

* * *

Cyborg tossedTrident aside, then turned and slugged Trident in the face. Nearby, Beast Boy swatted Trident down as a bear, then morphed into a stegosaurs and spun about, smashing several Trident's back into the Jump City Bay.

Turning back into himself and throwing a vicious spin kick into a Trident's jaw that would have done Robin proud, Beast Boy shouted to his friend, "Dude! This is pointless! We can't beat these guys in a straight fight!"

"We just have to hold out until Speedy and Jinx get here!" Cyborg yelled back as he plucked a Trident from his back and threw him into several other clones, "Keep it up! We're doing fine!"

Just then, there was the roar of a motor and Robin's R-Cycle came hurling out onto the docks, plowing Trident's aside as it went. Skidding to a halt and dropping the bike on several more of the clones, the lone rider jumped from the seat and landed near Beast Boy.

Jinx ripped off her helmet and slammed one of the Tridents across the face with it, "Miss me, BB?"

"You have no idea. And call me Gar."

"Where's Speedy?" Cyborg asked as he slugged a Trident out of his way to reach his friends.

"He uh... decided to stop off at the park and help Raven."

"Dude, he's got it bad." Beast Boy backed up until his back was against Jinx's.

"No doubt. You should have seen his face when we heard Raven get slammed by Fang. I thought he was going to take off running right then."

"Well, how about we finish up here so that we can get over there and catch the two of them making out or something." Cyborg pointed at the docks ahead of them, "Wanna' dump that hundred or so of 'em back into the ocean Jinx?"

"Not a problem." Jinx replied as she waved her hand at the wooden planks. They buckled in on themselves, sending dozens of Tridents howling down into the murky water below.

* * *

Raven dodged to the side as Fang's razor sharp claws slammed into the pavement next to her, sending bits of rock flying in all directions. She threw up a black shield of energy a moment latter to block his next strike. 

"Give it up, Girly. I'll get past you one of these times." Fang laughed as he spit a wad of paralyzing goop at her.

Raven ducked the spittle and threw a punch directly into the spider headed man's chest, knocking him back several feet. She followed the punch with a wave of black force, blowing him back into a tree.

"I can keep this up all day, Fang." she replied in a monotone, "You're going down one way or another, so why don't you just give up peacefully."

"Over my dead body." was Fang's retort as he grabbed a nearby ice cream stand with his human hands and used his spider legs to help him hurl it at her.

The cart slammed into Raven with enough force to knock her for a loop, giving Fang all the time he needed to be on top of her. As she tried to regain focus, he pinned her arms down and stood his human legs on her knees.

"Got you right were I want you now, baby." Fang laughed as the claw at the tip of one of his spider legs hooked on the neck line of her leotard and tore a line down to the middle of her breasts, revealing ample amounts of cleavage.

Raven glared up at the mutant, "Now now, Fang. What would Kitty say?"

"I think she'd understand if it was a Titan I was nailing." He clicked his mandibles together as he used his human hands to start unbuttoning his pants. Raven's eyes grew wide, and she prepared to used her powers.

As Fang started on his zipper, an arrow slammed into his shoulder, sending him reeling back with a howl of pain. Raven sat up and kicked her feet along the ground until she managed to float up into the air and back away from the spider-mutant. She noted that the arrow hadn't exploded or frozen, just buried it's self in Fang's shoulder. It was a real arrow, not one of Speedy's special particle accelerated ones.

Whirling around, she saw Speedy stringing another arrow, a look of anger and determination on his face. The fight with Cinderblock had left him looking a little worse for ware, but otherwise unharmed.

"No lethal force!" she shouted as he drew the arrow back to fire it. He held the arrow for several seconds before he lowered his bow and replaced the arrow in his quiver. As Fang flopped around on the ground trying to get the arrow out of his shoulder, Speedy walked over to Raven.

"You okay?" he asked as he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"I'm fine. You're hurt though... let me heal you-"

"After we're done here." Speedy glanced past her, then his eyes darted back to her breasts. He caught himself a second later and looked away with a slight blush, "Sorry."

Raven grinned, "Nothing you haven't seen before, right?" floating up off the ground, she turned back to Fang, "Let's take him down quick and clean."

"Right." Speedy pulled out an explosive arrow, "I'll blast him to the side, you knock him down."

Raven nodded and flew off to Fang's right side just as the monster ripped the arrow from his shoulder. Bulging spider eyes scanned around him quickly and landed on Speedy. "YOU!" he roared and jumped up off the ground.

Speedy fired at where Fang landed in a tree, but the spider-man was already jumping again, this time hurling right for the archer, claws extended like spears.

His limbs seemed to move in slow motion, and Fang seemed to move incredibly fast as Speedy reached for another arrow. He was going to die. Those claws were going to tear his chest open any second now, and he was going to die...

A flash of black energy lanced in front of him just as Fang's claws were about to reach his chest. Time sped up again and he had an arrow strung in a flash. His eyes grew wide as he saw Fang rearing back on six of his spider legs, waving the two that had just been severed at the half way point in the air, spraying black blood all over the park.

With a grim look, Speedy let the arrow fly at point blank range, blowing Fang away from him. The spider mutant landed in a heap of legs several yards away, out cold.

"Damn, Raven." the archer gasped as he stumbled back, "Thanks."

Raven floated over to Fang and checked his vitals. Standing she looked back at Speedy, "He'll live. Call in a medical team and the cops. They can take him from here."

"Right." as Speedy put in the call, Raven pulled her own T-Comp out.

"Raven to Cyborg. Report."

"Almost done here. Not much left of the docks, but the Tridents are retreating."

"Good job. We'll-" she was cut off by a bleeping from her T-Comp, "Hold on Cy." she switched screens and checked the report. "Shit." she quickly switched back to the com screen, "Now don't freak out here Cyborg, but we just got a report of a small army of Slade drones attacking the upper East Side."

There was a click as Cyborg signed off, then another click as Beast Boy's voice came through the com link, "Dude, Cy just took off! What the hell?"

"Sarah's apartment is in the upper East side." Raven replied, "I'm taking Speedy back to the Tower to patch him up. You two go with Cyborg and help him out. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, okay Beast Boy?"

"Call me Gar. And I'll do my best, but you know Cyborg."

"Yeah." Raven frowned, "Raven out... Gar."

* * *

Starfire stood outside of a door in Wayne Manor that was bound in crime scene tape, and sported a sign that looked like it had been printed off of a home computer that read, "Dick's Room! Keep Out!" It was so un-Robin like that she had to frown. Normally the boy wonder was neat and organized, and he had insisted that they not decorate the doors of their rooms back at Titan's Tower for the sake of professionalism. His work spaces and living spaces were always immaculate, hardly ever having a spot of dust or a crumb of food. 

This door was a ruse to fool anyone that would happen by; Robin the Boy Wonder didn't live in Wayne Manor after all.

Raising her hand, she knocked lightly, "Richard? It is Kori... may I enter?" There was silence from the other side of the door, but Alfred had assured her that Robin was inside, "Richard, I know that you are in there, Alfred told me as much. You can open the door or I can open it for you."

A moment later, the door opened and she was staring into Robin's eyes, looking bluer than she had ever seen anything in her life, "What?" he demanded.

Star's eyes flashed green as her temper snapped, "Do not presume that you can treat me in this manor simply because you are upset with Batman." she said in a scathingly dangerous tone. Robin's eyes grew wide and he backed away from the door, "Taking out your frustration on your friends is a bad habit of yours Richard, but if you are to be MY boyfriend, you will learn to control your temper." Robin stared at her with his mouth open, "Are we clear?" He nodded, his mouth still hanging open, "Good. Now, let us start over." Star reached out and pulled the door shut, then knocked.

"Yes?" Robin's voice came through the wood.

"It is Kori, Richard, I wish to speak with you."

The door opened a second later, and Robin smiled at her sadly, "Come in."

Smiling as she walked in past him, she pecked him on the cheek, "There, that was not so painful, was it?"

"No... and thanks Kori... for keeping me in line. I'm just... really upset." he crossed the room and sat down next to her on his bed.

"Understandable, but not acceptable. I'm sure Bruce did what he did for a reason."

"He did it because he was getting his petty revenge. I left to lead the Titan's and when he found out that Slade was after me, he left me alone to take care of it, not even giving me any information, because he wanted to show me that I wasn't ready to be out on my own."

"But you were ready. You rose to the occasion and met the challenge. We defeated Slade."

"Apparently, we didn't."

Star reached out and touched Robin's face, "We did not _kill_ Slade, but we did defeat him. It has been years since we heard from him."

"Still, I wish I could be back in Jump right now. As soon as we finish up with the Joker, we're heading back."

"Richard..." Star leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You can not leave Bruce like this. You must go to him and talk about this."

"You don't know him like I do, Star. The man wont talk about anything he doesn't want to."

"Perhaps he does want to talk about this."

"No. That's final. If he wants to talk this out, he can come to me."

"You are both very stubborn people." Star squeezed him, "Let us get some rest before we are to meet Miss Quinn tonight."

"Right. Hey, I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course I do, just as you know that I love you. I am sure we will argue in the future, Richard. Do not think that it means I feel any less strongly for you."

"Okay... I guess we'll just have to feel out this whole relationship thing as we go, huh?" he smiled.

"That is part of the fun of it." Star wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to the mattress with her, "Now kiss me so that I may have pleasant dreams."

* * *

The Slade drones had always been a major nuisance for the Titans during the year long time period they spent fighting Slade. They were tough, armed with all sorts of nasty weapons, and, being robots, worked as a hive mind. It had taken everything the team had to fight off the small army that had invaded the tower when Terra had sprung her trap on them. 

That was then.

It had been three years since the Titans had faced off against the Slade drones, and as they had grown, so had their power. As Cyborg blasted a swath through the horde that infested the street in front of his girlfriend's apartment, he noted with pleasure that the upgrades to his sonic cannon had finally come in handy. The beam could blow apart a building with one blast on full power now; far too much force for any living opponent.

Robots were a different story.

He turned with a battle cry as he slammed a fist into the head of the drone coming up behind him, smashing it's mettle cranium into little bits. He then flung the body at two other nearby robots, following the toss with another blast of his cannon.

A short ways away, pink energy flashed around the black-clad Jinx and she threw a low spin kick, knocking all of the drones surrounding her to the ground. With their circuits fried from her curse, they simply twitched on the ground as she walked around and stomped their heads in.

Beast Boy was built for mass combat in his stegosaurus form, swinging his tail around, and blasting drones all over the street. He paused for a moment to shake the sparking body of one of the robots off his tail spikes before continuing to stomp about and send the drones flying.

Cyborg had fought his way to the building at that point and unceremoniously kicked the door in. What he found inside almost made his oil freeze and his microprocessors stop.

Drones were in the building, dragging people out of their apartments and executing them in the hall ways. Four bodies already lay on the ground at his feet, the backs of their heads blown open by close range laser blasts.

"Sarah!" he screamed, and let loose with a blast down the hall way, blowing the drones there apart. As he charged to the stairs at the end of the hall, another drone stepped out of an apartment and into his path.

Cy didn't even slow down as he took it's head off with one punch.

* * *

Out on the street, Jinx was franticly trying to pick up the slack left by Cyborg when he'd run into the building. The street collapsed around her, cars exploded where they were parked, taking out several drones each, and she even went so far as to start blowing windows out of the surrounding buildings, sending the shards flying into the drones with deadly force. 

On top of using her powers to aid her, Jinx was still using every fighting move she knew to hold off the drones that made it up to her, "GAR!" she shouted, "HELP!"

Beast Boy looked over at her and quickly morphed into a rhino, plowing a swath through the drones to meet her. As he reached her he became a raptor, slashing away with his toe claws and biting heads off drones left and right.

Jinx used the moment of rest to rupture the gas main below the bulk of the drones and blow them sky high, along with most of the street.

The resulting shockwave blasted both super hero's off of their feet and sent them tumbling into Sarah's building. They landed in a heap of arms and legs, Beast Boy having resumed his natural form.

As the ringing started in their ears, Beast Boy said, "Dude, I think we need to go through that training program again."

"Heh." Jinx finally got to her feet and pulled him up as well, "Let's go check on Cy."

* * *

Cyborg tossed yet another drone down the steps, as he finally made it to the third floor. A sudden quiet descended as he scanned the hall for signs of trouble. His eyes paused for an infinite moment as they came to rest on the still form of a blonde girl laying on the floor outside of Sarah's open door. 

"No..." he stumbled forward a few steps, then found his balance and dashed the remaining few yards to kneel next to the body lying on the ground. Reaching out with a trembling hand, he grasped the girls shoulder and rolled her over.

"Cy?" Beast Boy's voice came from behind him, and he heard the changeling step closer. There was a sharp intake of breath, then, "Holy... oh shit dude... that's not... is it... it can't be-"

Cyborg held his arm out and a small medical kit popped out of it, "It's not Sarah, but she's not breathing either. We need to start CPR."

"Fuck... dude... I can't remember-"

"Then go in there and check to see if Sarah's alright." Cyborg pointed at the open door of his girlfriend's apartment, "Jinx, can you help me here?"

"Yeah. Go on Gar." Jinx shoved him through the door and knelt next to Cyborg, "Begin compression." she ordered, and lowered her mouth to that of the blonde girl.

Beast Boy took one last glance at his team mates working then stepped farther into the apartment. He walked slowly, checking every corner and shadow as he moved. "Sarah!" he called, "It's BB! We're here to-"

The closet next to the small kitchen area flew open and a blonde blur slammed into Beast Boy as he turned to meet the threat. It took him a moment to process that he was holding a sobbing Sarah in his arms.

"Don't worry Sarah," he said with a smile, "we're here now."

"I was so scared!" she whispered, her face still buried in his chest.

"It's all good now. Jinx blew apart half the street to do it, but we got rid of the drones." he pushed her up off of him and held her at arms length, "Now come on. Cy's right outside the door there and I don't want him getting the wrong idea about this."

Sarah giggled and glanced at the door. Her eyes grew wide at what she saw, "Oh my God... Tina..."

"They'll save her. Don't be-" Beast Boy caught movement out of the corner of his eye and his head snapped around to look even as he interposed his own body between whatever was coming out of the bedroom and Sarah.

Three quick laser blasts later, Beast Boy was staggering back into Sarah, gasping in pain. He couldn't yell, couldn't warn Cyborg-

A blue beam of energy ripped through the drone that had stepped out of the bedroom, blasting it through the wall and out into the street. Beast Boy smiled a bit, and looked around at Sarah, "You okay?" he rasped out.

"Oh shit... BB..." Sarah was lowering him to the ground, "I'm fine, but you're hit-"

"I'm okay..." he closed his eyes, "I'm a tough little green guy..."

And the world went black.

* * *

"Ow." Speedy smiled as Raven rolled her eyes. 

"If you say that one more time, I'm going to make you do this yourself." They were sitting in the medical lab of Titan Tower, Speedy sitting up straight on a stool, and Raven crouching next to him. She had discarded her cloak so she could work easier, and her white leotard was now stained with little splotches of blood, both her own, and Speedy's. She was currently wrapping his ribs in a stiff bandage.

"Why don't you just use your healing powers anyway?" he asked.

"I don't want sore ribs."

"No, really. I mean, yeah it sucks for you, but you don't _really_ get hurt, and I'd be up to fighting fit and able to get back out there-"

"I'm going to use my powers in a moment, Speedy. Just let me make sure all the bones are in the right spots so it'll work right." Raven tightened the bandage down and Speedy gasped.

"Ow..."

Raven smiled a little, "We'll just let those set into place for a minute. Here..." she reached out and peeled his mask off, "Let me do something about this cut above your eye."

He nodded as she began dabbing at it with a bit of gauze. They sat in silence for a few minutes while she worked, and applied the bandage. As she smoothed the adhesive edges down and pulled her hands away, Speedy reached up and caught her sleeve. Raven gave him a curious look, but didn't move to pull away from him.

"You have a cut..." he mumbled as he turned her hand palm up and inspected the thin laceration that ran along her palm.

"I broke a glass the other night. Nothing big."

Speedy nodded but grabbed the antiseptic anyway. Raven let him clean the dirt of the battle off of her hand, then apply liquid band-aid to it to seal it shut. With a small smile he turned her hand over in his and looked down at the two.

"You have small hands." he noted.

"Maybe you just have big hands."

"I do, but that's not all of it. Yours are small, too."

"Yeah."

They sat holding hands for several minutes, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Well!" Raven sat up suddenly, "I can heal your ribs now."

"Okay." Speedy sat up straighter and she held her hands out. A whitish glow surrounded his midsection briefly, and Raven winced. After a moment, she was done, and rubbing her ribs.

"Bet that sucked." Speedy arched his back and rotated his trunk. "Yep, good as new. Thanks a ton, Rae."

"Don't mention it." Raven started packing up the medical supplies.

"Hey..." Speedy reached out again and caught her wrist. She looked back at him and smiled.

"What?"

He smiled back and pulled her over to him. She stumbled a bit and he caught her as she fell into his arms. A blush colored her cheeks as she stared up into his blue eyes, "Speedy, I-"

"Shush. We can think about the consequences of our actions later." and he kissed her.

Raven melted into him. If kissing Robin had been mind blowing, this kiss was going to lobotomize her. As Speedy's tongue started to work against hers, she knew in a sudden moment of clarity that they would never just be friends again.

* * *

Cyborg rushed down the hall of the medical level of the tower with a small green form in his arms. Beast Boy moaned as he jostled against the robotic Titan's titanium arm. 

"Almost there Gar. Hold on man..."

He almost punched the open button next to the medical room door, but held himself back from breaking anything. As the doors wooshed open, he stepped in and called out, "Raven! You in here?"

Cyborg stopped short and his mouth fell open. The sudden cessation of motion caused Beast Boy to lift his head weakly. His eyes grew wide as well. "Dude..." he breathed, "They're really going at it..."

Raven had her arms wrapped up under Speedy's shoulders, her hands gripping at his hair. Speedy, who was shirtless, had his hands on her hips pulling her into him even as they crushed their mouths together.

They didn't seem to notice anyone had just walked in.

"Uh... Raven? Speedy?" Cyborg arched an eyebrow. "HEY!" he shouted, and they jumped apart.

"What? Cy? Oh... shit." Raven covered her face to hide her blush, then looked back up a moment later, "What happened to Beast Boy?"

"Took a few shots protecting Sarah. She's here by the way, down in the rec-room."

"Alright, get him on a table. Where's Jinx?" Raven started hooking up scanners as Cy set the changeling down on one of the tables.

"Sitting with Sarah. They're getting acquainted."

"I'm going to go put on a new uniform." Speedy said as he stood up.

"Don't bother." Raven checked a pulse readout, "We're not going out again tonight."

"Okay. civies then."

"See you soon." Raven waved.

Speedy walked over to her, leaned in and pecked her on the cheek, "Yeah. We can talk later."

Raven looked up at him with a smile, "I'd like that."

"Hello?" Beast Boy's weak voice wafted up from where he lay, "Dying here, remember?"

"You're not dying." Raven said with a smile as she turned back to the readouts.

Cyborg watched with an arched eyebrow and an amused look as Speedy left.

"So!" he said, "You and Speedy are-"

"Don't ruin it for me, Cy." Raven said happily as she probed at Beast Boy's wounds, "These look nasty."

"You should feel 'em..." Beast Boy replied.

"Hmmm..." Raven reached out and healed one of the blast marks. She inhaled sharply and stepped back, "Yeah..." she gripped a point on her chest, "They hurt..."

"Christ, Raven!" Cyborg stepped forward, "Let's just clean and dress the wounds. You don't need to kill yourself again."

"Literally." Beast Boy put in.

"You're pretty chatty for someone who's been shot up." Raven poked his shoulder.

"Ow."

"Cy, get that green stuff over there. Yeah that one..." Raven took the jar of antiseptic that Cyborg handed her and began cleaning Beast Boy's wounds. "If Jinx or Sarah are hurt, you might as well send them up too..."

"Naw, they're fine. Big girls you know. They can look after themselves. And you need to have a chat with Speedy, remember?"

"You just keep giving me grief over this and we'll see if you like the pits of Azer."

"You'd send me to a different dimension just because I'm making fun of you?"

Raven looked up and gave him an evil little grin, "Why, Cyborg! When did I ever give you the impression I was the nice one?"

* * *

Robin smoothed his mask down over his eyes and stared at himself in the mirror of the changing room in the Batcave for several minutes. The green and red didn't seem to feel right anymore. Not now that he was his own hero. 

Bruce had turned a blind eye on him when Slade had been trying to convert him, and had left him to sink without giving him any information after that. It hurt that Batman hadn't helped him... the man who had taught him everything he knew about being good and noble. It hurt that he'd been thrown out just because he had wanted to go out on his own.

More than anything though, it hurt to think about what might have been. If he'd had information on who Slade was, and what he did, they might have been able to stop him sooner. They might have been able to save Jump City so much grief and turmoil...

... Terra might not have had to giver her life for them...

Robin's fist slammed into the mirror, shattering it into the sink below, "Damn you Bruce." he whispered, "She might still be alive if it wasn't for you..."

"Robin?" Starfire's voice came from the door, "Are you well? I heard a crash..."

"I'm fine Star. I'll be right out." Robin composed himself once again. He didn't need the excess anger and rage when he was going out to go Joker hunting. Harley wasn't the best fighter in the world, but she knew a lot of tricks to keep herself out of trouble. They'd have to be on their toes, and with any kind of anger clouding his mind, he was sure he'd miss something.

As he walked to the door, Robin tossed his Bat Communicator in the sink with the broken glass. He wouldn't be needing Bruce's help tonight.

* * *

"...so then he's all like, 'Hey! You get that frog off of third, or I'll toss you out for amphibious misconduct.'" Jinx burst out laughing as Sarah relayed one of her many stories about her boyfriend, "So Tommy," Sarah giggled, "Tommy tells him that it's not a frog, it's their third baseman!" 

The two of them burst out laughing and took several minutes to compose themselves. When they had finally calmed down, Sarah, sitting on the couch with her legs curled under her across from where Jinx was lounging in a comfy chair, spoke, "So, what can I call you other than Jinx?"

"Hmm? Why would you call me anything else?" the pink haired girl arched an eyebrow.

"Well, it's kind of a tradition with the Titan girls. I call Starfire Kori, Raven's been cursed with Rae Rae," Jinx giggled, "and when she was still around, I called Terra Ra."

"I don't really have any knick names," the sorceress shrugged, "I mean, it's kind of hard to shorten down Jinx..."

"Well, what's your real name? I call Star by her given name, or at least a shortened version of it."

"Oh... well... I don't really like to think about that part of my life..." Jinx looked at the gentle smile on Sarah's face and smiled back, "But to hell with it. Call me Jen. No one's called me that since my father."

"Are your parents still around?"

"Not really. I ran away when I was young and joined the HIVE. Mom died a few years before that and my Dad... well, he went a little crazy after we lost her. I actually... um... sorta' knocked him out and had him taken to the state mental hospital the other day."

Sarah stared at her, "Oh." she said, and blinked. "Well, Jen, why don't you and I start cooking up some diner for the team. I'm sure they'll all be down here in a while looking for food."

"Oh no... you do NOT want to see me in the kitchen. Besides, I'm still all banged up from the battle. I need a shower and a trip to the med bay to wrap up my wrist." she held up her left hand and showed Sarah her wrist to emphasize her point. It was swollen and bruised, and looked like it was sitting at a funny angle, "I think it's sprained."

"Sprained?" Sarah got up and rushed over to her, "Jen, this is broken! How can you just sit there and act like this doesn't hurt?"

"Oh, it hurts. Hurts like hell actually, but Cy told me to stay with you, so here I am... Gar needed the treatment more than I did."

"Right... well, march straight to the medical bay then young lady, and I'll start dinner."

"Young lady?" Jinx stood up and started for the elevator with a laugh.

"I'm a year older than you at least." Sarah waved her off, "Shoo! Go get that wrist fixed."

"I'm going!" Jinx smiled, "I'll send Cy down to help you with dinner."

"Oh God no... we'll be eating nothing but meat..."

Jinx laughed out loud as she stepped on to the elevator and the doors slid shut.

* * *

Starfire gripped Robin about the waist tightly as they sped through the streets of Gotham on the Batcycle. She hoped fervently that Quinn wouldn't put up too much of a fight, and that they could conclude their business in Gotham as soon as possible. The team back home needed them, and the sooner she could get Robin away from Batman, the sooner she could start to work on getting him to forgive his mentor. 

"We'll be going in through the front door." Robin told her through the com link in the helmets.

"On the bike?" she asked as a joke.

"On the bike." he replied.

Star blinked, "Oh."

"Once we're in, I need you to single out Harley and pin her. She's a tricky girl, so be careful, and don't spare the starbolts if she fights back."

"What is it you are planning on doing?"

Robin's voice came through clear and confident, "I'm going to take care of everyone else."

* * *

Beast Boy walked slowly out of the med bay as Jinx came down the hall, "Hey Babe." she said as she came up next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "How're you feeling?" 

"Not bad considering. Raven healed up one wound, but we decided to just patch up the rest. I'll live, but I'll be on the mend for a few days." he shrugged.

"No fighting for you then. You should change, then go see Sarah. She's cooking tonight."

"She knows to make a vegetarian dish for me. She's a great cook too, you'll love whatever she makes."

"I'm sure of it. I have to have the doctor look at my wrist now, so I'll see you down in the rec-room in a bit, okay?" Jinx winked at him.

"Okay." Beast Boy smiled back and walked gingerly down the hall as she stepped into the medical lab.

"Hey! Raven! You got any wrist braces?"

Raven turned around from where she was putting some supplies away and glanced at Jinx's wrist, "Christ Jinx." she shook her head, "Get over here and let me heal that."

"You've suffered enough of our pain tonight, Rae." Jinx walked over, "Just brace it and give me an ice pack for the swelling."

"I'll heal it. That's an order." Raven held out her hand and Jinx sighed and placed her broken wrist in it, "We need everyone in good shape now that Beast Boy is out of action for a little while."

"Just don't over-do it." Jinx watched as Raven closed her eyes and winced as she used her powers to heal the bones.

"There." Raven pulled her hand back, "I mended the bones, but left the bruising. You can heal that on your own, or come find me tomorrow and I'll finish it. For right now, I want you to take some Codeine and get a cold compress on it."

"Will do. Hey, where's Cy? I told Sarah I'd send him down."

"He went to his room. His body armor took a few shots and he was going to repair it really quick." Raven grabbed her cape and smiled at Jinx, "Did I hear you say Sarah is cooking?"

"Why are you so smiley?" Jinx reached out and flipped Raven's hair away from her ear, "You don't smile this much."

"I can feel a wider range of emotions now, remember?"

"Yeah, but..." Jinx's eyes widened, "You have a crush!"

"What?" Raven was slightly taken aback.

"We have a link... from when you talked to me when you were dead. I can... tell what you're thinking and feeling sometimes. More like I just know."

Raven glanced out the door, then hit the button to shut it. She turned back to Jinx and grabbed her good hand, "Oh my God... Speedy... cute, funny, romantic, and holy shit is he a good kisser." she melted into her friends arms, "We're going to talk tonight, and I think I'm considering asking him if he wants to start dating."

"Holy... you've only had a crush on him for like, a day Raven! You sure you want to jump right into this?"

"Yeah. It's... special with him. I mean, don't get me wrong, you and Beast Boy were great, but-"

"We don't make you feel like he makes you feel."

"Right." Raven blushed, "I think I might be falling in love."

"Oh... Rae..." Jinx hugged her, "Good for you. I told you things would work out."

"You did... thanks."

"Don't mention it. Oh, and by the way," Jinx stepped back and opened the door as she called over her shoulder, "Good job at _finally_ being a girl!"

She took off with a giggle as Raven tried to grab her.

* * *

The Black Devil biker gang had never seen a broad quite like Harley Quinn. She was smart if not a little wacky, and she had a killer body. She could swear with the worst of them, drink with the best of them, and on top of all that, she was crazy. 

One hundred percent, head screwed on wrong, manically laughing, chopping off some dude's fingers 'cause he called her a tramp, crazy.

She was currently hanging on the arm of the leader of the gang, a man who went by the name Big Ron. Big Ron liked having her around to make him look good (she was wearing tight cutoff shorts and a little white top that left little to the imagination), and he knew it drove the rest of the gang crazy thinking that he'd been fucking her every night for the past two weeks.

Truth was though, he respected the fact that she said she had a boyfriend. She never called him anything except 'Mr. J.' but he guessed that was normal for someone so crazy. She had also been known to walk around on her hands while trying to gargle the national anthem with a mouthful of beer.

The pool hall they crashed in when they were in Gotham was packed full of them tonight. They'd picked up seven new members in Blödhaven, bringing their total membership up to twenty four guys. Add to that the nine or so girls that were milling about and the small room was feeling even smaller.

"You're shot puddin." Harley nodded at the pool table and nudged Big Ron forward, "Drop a ball for me, kay?"

"You got it babe." As he stepped up to the table to line up his shot, Big Ron heard a noise that sounded like a motorcycle drawing closer from outside. He straightened up and looked out the window that was directly in his line of sight. A headlight was growing closer from down the ally across from the bar.

"Hey boys!" he called to the gang at large, "We got another bike comin' down our way! Why don't we step out and greet the guy!"

"Greet him with a bat!" one of the gang members shouted back as he hefted a baseball bat above his head. The rest of the gang cheered as they started to surge towards the door.

The door blew in and the bike plowed through the crowd of thugs like a ship plowing through ice in the arctic.

As the black bike came to a stop, a girl with glowing green eyes flew from the back of it and straight at Big Ron. He jumped to the side, but figured out too late that the girl wasn't going for him; she was tackling Harley.

"Hey!" Harley shouted as they tumbled away from Big Ron, "Get off! I'll tell Mr. J!"

"We would be delighted if you'd take us to him personally!" the girl with the glowing eyes said as she lifted Harley bodily off the ground and slammed her into a wall.

Big Ron watched as Harley's eyes grew wide and looked past the girl and out at the bar. Following her gaze, Big Ron stumbled back and his mouth dropped open.

Robin the Boy Wonder was taking his gang apart. As he slugged one thug and ducked another one's clumsy swing with a crowbar, he reached into his belt and pulled out a small disk, which exploded when he hurled it at the ground in front of him, blasting several more gang members back from him. A twirl and a low spin kick and two more went down. Robin straightened up and grabbed a thug who'd escaped the worst of the explosion and hurled him bodily over the bar and into the wall of liquor.

Big Ron bent down and picked up his pool cue, but by the time he'd stood again and turned to attack the fight was over. Robin slammed his fist into the last gang members face and let him drop, even as he turned to glare at Big Ron.

Ron dropped his cue and held his hands up.

"I don't like you," Robin growled out as he stalked forward, "but that doesn't mean Quinn's misfortune has to extend to you. I'll let you leave here unharmed if you just keep your mouth shut and don't try to interfere while we question her."

"What'da ya want with a broad like Harley?" Big Ron asked.

"Harley Quinn is the side kick and consort to the Joker, Ron. Did you know that?" Robin stared the bigger man down.

"N-no..."

"I bet she didn't tell you that she has two doctorates in psychology and psychiatry either did she?"

"No..."

"I bet she didn't tell you much at all, did she?" Robin smiled half a smile.

"No, nothing."

"Then why don't you just run along and we can avoid any violence, okay?"

Okay..." Big Ron nodded and quickly ran for the door, stepping over the unconscious forms of his gang as he did.

As soon as he was out the door, Robin turned to Harley and Starfire and smiled, "Alone at last, eh Harley?"

"Yeah..." Quinn laughed nervously, "So why's the Boy Wonder gunning for little ol' me, huh? Lonely?" she winked.

Star tightened her grip on the blonde's throat.

"Guess not..." Quinn gasped. Robin nodded to Star and she dropped the other girl.

"Now Harley, why don't you tell us where we can find the Joker."

She laughed at them.

Until Robin punched her across the face.

"Where is he Quinn?" the raven haired vigilante grabbed her and tossed her onto one of the pool tables, "He shot and almost _killed_ Batgirl! You tell me where he is, or I'll make you wish _I _was going to kill_ you_."

Harley sat up and stuck her tongue out at Robin, "Not tellin' nothin' Minibats!"

Robin started forward but Starfire reached out and held him back, "Let me." she said, and he let her step forward.

"Miss Quinn, we are going to send you to prison, you know that, correct?"

"Yeah, so?" Harley sat up on the table and crossed her legs.

"If you tell us where to find the Joker, then we will be able to send him to prison as well." Robin arched an eyebrow, "The two of you could be together again."

Harley seemed to think about it for a moment, then snapped her fingers, "Well, they do put men and woman together in Arkham, so I guess we will see each other! Thanks, uh... what was your name?"

"Starfire."

"Thanks Starfire! You're a real pal, you know?"

"I endevor to do good where I can." Star nodded a thank you.

"Aw, that's sweet. You're lucky to have her around, Boy Blunder."

Robin smiled as he pulled out his hand cuffs, "Yes I am, Harley. Yes I am."

* * *

Speedy stepped into the hall way from Robin's room just as Jinx came out of hers a short ways away. He watched as she flipped some of her still wet hair out of her eyes and tied it back in a ponytail. 

She glanced over at him and smiled, "You didn't bleach your hair after all, did you?"

Speedy laughed, "No, I actually used a blonde hair dye. It's been about three weeks now and it's starting to wash out." he waited for her to come up next to him before continuing, "I've never seen your hair down before. It makes your features softer."

"Which is why I wear it up in combat." Jinx replied as they started down the hall, "You threw some pretty intense moves out there today."

"I'm no where near as good as Robin, or even you. I rely on my bow more than I really should." he frowned, "That's how Robin beat me when we fought. He broke my bow."

"Well, I'm up for going a few rounds in the morning if you want some practice." Jinx shrugged, "I think we could all used a few new moves to diversify our combat techniques."

"That sounds good. I'll ask Raven about it when we talk later." they stepped into the elevator and Speedy hit the button for the rec-room.

"Oh yeah... the talk." Jinx reached out and hit the hold button, making the elevator stop. She looked him right in the eye, "Don't toy with her, Speedy, or I'll turn you into a newt." he arched an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something but Jinx cut him off, "Don't think I can't."

Speedy shut his mouth and smiled, "I'm not toying with her. I feel pretty strongly that she might be the girl to stop chasing skirts over."

Jinx hit the resume button and smiled back, "Good. She feels strongly about you too."

"I'm starved," Speedy said as the doors opened, "Hope someone's cooking."

"Sarah is." they stepped out to see a small party. Sarah was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, while Cyborg sat nearby and talked to her. Beast Boy, now changed into loose fitting black wind pants and a white t-shirt, was lounging on the couch playing video games. Raven sat next to him reading a book.

Both Speedy and Jinx felt their jaws drop when they saw Raven. The psion glanced up at them and arched an eyebrow, "What?" she asked.

"You're... wearing a dress." Speedy said.

"A sky blue dress. That only drops to your knees. And has spaghetti straps." Jinx clarified.

"I've owned this for years and never worn it. Figured today was as good a day as any." Raven shrugged, then called out, "You need any help in there Sarah?"

"I could use someone who's not adverse to vegetables!" Sarah called back as she stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend.

* * *

Tim Drake snuck quietly down the hall past his dad's room. Jake Drake had fallen asleep an hour ago, and Tim had started his preparations then. A backpack full of useful things (it wasn't a utility belt, but he had to make due) and dark clothes to stay out of sight in, and he was ready to go. 

If Robin was going to use him as a contact, then he was going to make himself useful. No one really bothered with kids running around at night, and he might be able to scope some things out that the Boy Wonder would never see.

It never hurt to have another pair of eyes did it?

As he quietly shut the door of their apartment, Tim wondered not for the first time how exactly he was going to be able to get any information he acquired to Robin. Info wasn't any use if you never got it.

He frowned as he left the building. This might be harder than he thought.

* * *

"This food," Speedy declared, "is the best food I've ever eaten here at the Tower." 

"Hell. Yes." Jinx nodded before taking another bite of mash potatoes.

Sarah beamed at the Titans as they wolfed down her cooking. She'd put together quiet a spread, knowing how much the teen super hero's could eat, and was pleased with the results. Baked ham (thank God for flash cookers) with mashed potatoes and a vegetable stir fry, gravy on the side, and tray full of deviled eggs. Not bad for an hour and a half of cooking.

"So," Jinx said after she swallowed her bite, "how did you and Cy meet, Sarah?"

"I volunteer at the Jump City Children's Hospital, chaperoning a baseball game in the park every Sunday for kids with cybernetic prosthetics. Cy happened by one week and the kids just fell in love with him." she smiled sadly and placed a hand on her boyfriend's arm, "He's the Titan they all look up to the most. The one most like them."

"I was feeling really down." Cyborg shook his head, "It seemed that everywhere I went in town that day people were running away from me. Scared." he looked over at Sarah and anyone could see that he loved her, "Sarah wasn't scared. I helped umpire the game that week, and I've been doing it ever since."

"We were attacked by Cinderblock halfway through the game." Sarah put in, and Jinx gasped, "Don't worry, Cy kept any of the kids from getting hurt, and then he and the rest of the Titans took the brute down." she winked at the pink haired sorceress, "I'm not ashamed to admit that he looks hot when he's in action. I gave him my number as soon as I could."

"Cyborg! You ladies man!" Jinx reached across the table and knuckled his jaw.

"I'm a one-lady man, thank you." Cyborg reached out and hugged Sarah. She kissed his jaw.

"Blarg." Beast Boy chomped on some more green pepper, "None of that while we're eating please."

"Shut up, BB." Cyborg cut another huge chunk of ham.

"Gar." Beast Boy corrected him.

"Right. Gar." Cyborg rolled his eye.

"Why Gar all of a sudden?" Raven asked from where she was already done eating, "I mean, we don't usually use our given names."

"Well, Beast Boy just sounds too... kiddy I guess. I'm almost seventeen." Beast Boy grinned, "Time to grow up I guess.

"

"Why don't we just use everybody's given names when we're not in combat then?" Jinx asked, "I mean, we're all friends, right?"

"Sure." Speedy nodded, "Though responding to Jason is going to take some getting used to."

"Jason?" Beast Boy arched an eyebrow.

"I know you knew that." Speedy smiled at him, "Garfield."

"Gar." Beast Boy narrowed his eyes.

Jinx raised her hand, "Jennifer. Call me Jen."

"Victor." Cyborg said, "But ya'll already knew that."

"Your name really _is _Victor?" Jinx asked, "I thought that was an assumed name you took for the HIVE infiltration."

"Naw, that's my real name."

"You can call me Sarah!" Sarah waved her hand at them with a giggle.

All eyes turned to Raven.

Raven glared back.

"So?" Beast Boy grinned, "What's your real name, Raven?"

Raven sighed and sagged in her seat, "Just another way I'm different from you guys I guess." she straightened up and took on an almost regal air, "Raven of Azur, Imperial City of Azarath, Daughter of Trigon, Dark Lord and Master of All Creation." her eyes took on a brief red glow, "Harbinger of destruction, and forerunner of conquest."

Everyone gaped at her.

Raven smiled, "Or at least that's the name I was given at birth. If we were on Azarath, you could call me Imperial Princess Raven, or Heir Apparent Raven, but since we're in _this_ dimension," her eyes became normal again, "why don't you just call me Raven."

There was silence for a moment, then Beast Boy broke it with a gulp and a weak smile, "Yeah. Raven it is then."

* * *

Tim crouched in the shadows of an ally way, watching a drug deal go down. If he could follow the dealer back to where he kept his stash, he'd have something useful. Until then, one drug deal wasn't enough to alert Robin about. 

The headphone bud in his ear squawked to life again. It was hooked to the receiver in his back pack, tuned to the police frequency, "Dispatch, this is Robin. Come in Dispatch."

There was a brief, unbelieving pause, then a female voice replied, "It's been awhile Robin. Go ahead."

"I've captured and detained Harley Quinn at the Ruffian's Row. I'll be standing guard until a unit comes to pick her up."

"Dispatch to 336. You're in that area, aren't you?"

"Sure am Dispatch. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Good. Robin out."

Tim quickly moved down the ally and out on the opposite side from where the drug deal was going on. He wanted to talk with Robin to see about getting a way to contact him. Looking up at the nearest street sign, he quickly calculated the fastest way to Ruffian's Row. Not fast enough.

Looking around for other options, his eyes stopped on the lights of the Sprang Bridge, visible from five blocks away. Looking back to his right, he spotted the railroad tracks.

Checking his watch, he saw that the three A.M. freight from Sullivan would be coming through the upper East side any minute. If he could hitch a ride on that across the bridge, and jump off near Crime Ally, it would be a quick six block jog to Ruffian's Row.

"Why am I doing this?" he mumbled to himself as he jogged off to where the lights were already starting to flash at the railroad crossing.

* * *

The Titans broke up at about eight. Sarah was carried bodily out of the kitchen by Cyborg, and Speedy and Jinx took up the duty of dishwashing. Raven checked Beast Boy's wounds, and then sat down with Sarah to do a card reading. Cyborg and Beast Boy picked up Street Fighter again. 

Things were quiet and peaceful in the Tower. Raven smiled as she lay the Lovers card down for Sarah, electing a squeal of delight from the blonde. That card always came up when she was reading for Sarah. The girl had a bigger heart than anyone she'd ever met. She was the Earth's version of Starfire.

As Sarah attempted to figure out what the reading meant (she liked to do it on her own, and Raven was more then happy to loan her a book or two to help) Raven looked about at her other friends. Beast Boy was happy for once. Jinx brought out compassion and maturity in him that few people could. He was a good guy, and he could guide her away from her dark past and fully into the light of good.

Cyborg was the same rock he always was. Anchoring the Titans with his ever present, never changing force of personality. Out going, confident, and strong of will, the robotic Titan was always there for them.

Jinx was washing while Speedy was drying. Not a bad idea considering Speedy's affinity for dropping plates. The pink haired girl had whirlwinded into their lives less than a week ago, and already she seemed like she'd been with the team her whole life. She had really grown up since the last time they'd fought, turning into a good, decent person. Her respect for life still needed some work, but she was trying her best, and she'd learn eventually.

Speedy... was complicated. Yesterday, she would have rather chucked him in the ocean rather then let him on a team she was leading, but since she'd died, she'd come to see him in a different light. He wasn't such a jerk when she wasn't such a bore. He'd always just wanted her to loosen up, and she had to admit, since she'd loosened up, she was having more fun.

Still, she hadn't planned on falling in love with him so quickly.

"Hey." Sarah poked her in the arm and spoke quietly, "I know he has a nice butt, but you've been staring at Jason for a while now."

Raven smiled over at the blonde girl and spoke to her in the same quiet tone, "I know. I'm falling hard, Sarah. I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

"It's a good thing. You need some love in your life, Rae Rae. You've been denied that for so long... even if it's just for a little while and it doesn't work out, you owe it to yourself to go for it. He's a good guy, and he'll treat you right."

"Thanks." Raven hugged her, "Tell him to meet me in my room for me will you? I... want to make this perfect."

"Welcome to feeling nervous." Sarah smiled at her.

"Yeah, real great new emotion there..." Raven rolled her eyes and smiled. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah, see you." Sarah watched as Raven walked quietly across the room and stepped into the elevator. She smiled then and looked back at Speedy. He was going to be blown away by this.

* * *

Tim stood not five feet from the train as it hurled past. All he had to do was reach out and jump. Just jump and grab one of those box car handles. Just jump and grab. 

He jumped, grabbed, and felt his arm almost tear out of the socket.

"Ow." he muttered as he found footing. Switching hands so that his hurt shoulder wouldn't be taking the weight of his body, he pulled himself closer to the car.

The bridge was long, and he had several blocks to ride before and after it. This was going to be painful and tiring.

* * *

"Hey, Jason." Sarah poked Speedy in the ribs and he turned from where he was leaning on the back of the couch watching Jinx pummel the crap out of Cyborg in Tekken. 

"What's up?"

"Raven told me to have you meet her in her room."

"Hey, yeah. When did she take off? I haven't seen her in awhile." Speedy scratched his head.

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"Took you long enough to tell me..." he smirked at her.

"A woman needs time to prepare for these things, even if she's a super hero. Go have your little talk, and play nice. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Uh... what _would_ you do?"

Sarah grinned the most evil grin he'd ever seen on such a pretty face, "I can't say exactly, but they'd involve whips and lot's of leather."

"Stop talking about our sex life please." Cyborg said without looking away from the screen, "Damnit, Jen! You think you could let me win _once_?"

"Not on your life, Tin Man. After the Street Fighter humiliation the other night, I _owe_ you."

"'Night every one." Speedy waved over his shoulder as he left.

"'Night!" they all chorused back.

Sarah and Beast Boy watched Cyborg and Jinx play for a few more minutes before Jinx spoke up, "So, leather and whips, 'eh Sarah?"

"Mmm hmm." she nodded without looking away from the screen, "You want to borrow some?"

Beast Boy looked frightened.

* * *

Robin watched from the roof top of a nearby building while the police put Harley in the back of a cruiser. Starfire sat behind him, consulting a map on her T-Comp. 

"Do you think she gave us the right information?" she asked

"Quinn is insane. If your logic made sense to her, then she'd tell us the truth." Robin replied as he turned to look at his girlfriend, "You did well tonight, Star."

"I except the fact that in Gotham you need to be a bit... rougher with the criminals, but I do not condone excessive violence. Such has never been the way of my people, and we are warrior race." she looked sad, "Please Robin, do just enough to capture them, no more."

Robin's heart softened. She had a way of doing that to him, "I promise."

There was silence between them for a moment, then Star stood up, "Well! We know where the Joker is. Do you wish to capture him as well this night?"

"No." Robin shook his head, "Harley wasn't prepared for us because she's been lying low off the radar." his eyes narrowed, "The Joker is always prepared for a visit from Batman. If he's heard that I'm in town, he'll be expecting me as well."

"He is _always_ prepared?" Starfire looked disbelieving.

"He isn't Batman's greatest enemy for nothing. The Joker lives for his encounters with Batman. We don't just interrupt his plans. He lays plans expecting us to show up, then does his best to kill us." he turned back to the street, "It's all a big joke to him."

"He sounds truly mad. So we retreat back to the cave and plan for tomorrow then?" When Robin didn't reply she stepped up next to him, "What is it?"

"Drake." was his only reply as he stared across the street at the form of Tim Drake, limping out of the shadows.

"He looks injured. I will-" Star floated up off the roof top.

"No." Robin cut her off, "He's looking for me. You head back to the cave, and I'll meet you there once I've sorted this out."

Starfire looked worried for a moment, but nodded anyway, "I will see you soon then."

Robin smiled up at her, reached out, and grabbed her wrist. Pulling her back down, he kissed her gently, "Soon." he promised.

Smiling, Star flew off.

* * *

Tim limped down Ruffian's Row, trying to ignore the pain in his leg. As he walked, he saw a flash of green light, and Starfire took off from one of the buildings. A police cruiser drove past, and he caught a glimpse of a blonde woman in the back seat. 

"Damn." he shook his head, "Missed him."

"Missed who?" Tim whirled around to see two white points of light in the shadows, and the vague spiky headed outline of the Boy Wonder.

He breathed out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "You. I'm looking for you."

"Why?" Robin stepped out of the shadows and looked down at Tim.

"I need a way to contact you. What use am I as a resource if I can't tell you what I see?"

Robin frowned. He'd done a brief background check on Tim, and had found out that he was a good kid who stayed out of trouble. A natural athlete, but given more to academic pursuits.

"You're not involved with any crime, Tim. Why would you think I would use you as eyes on the street?"

"Wha..." Tim looked baffled, "What else would you use me for?"

"You're good with computers, so I was thinking more of a cyberspace source." Robin arched a corner of his mask up, "How did you get hurt?"

"Oh..." Tim looked down at himself with a grin, "Got a bit banged up when I jumped off the train-"

"Wait..." Robin looked at him in disbelief, "You jumped a train to get here?"

"Yeah. I heard you on the police scanner, and needed a fast way to get here, so I jumped on the fright coming up from-"

"I know which train you took..." Robin was quickly reevaluating his opinion of Tim Drake, "Look, let me get you to a doctor I know, and then we can talk about-"

He didn't get the rest of his sentence out because a biker with a hunk of rebar chose that moment to jump from the shadows and clobber him over the head with it.

"Robin!" Tim back peddled away from the biker, who raised the bar over his head for another swing; one that would probably end the life of Batman's sidekick.

"No choice." Tim grit his teeth as he said it and charged, knocking the man back with his shoulder.

The biker was stunned for a second, then back handed the much smaller boy out of his way. "Fuckin' punk. I'll kill you just as soon as I'm done with this-" as he turned back to Robin, he saw that the young hero was gone, "What the-"

Robin's staff slammed across his jaw, sending him reeling, "Didn't you get enough earlier?" Robin asked as he jumped forward, slamming a steel rimmed boot into the man's face, knocking him to the ground, out cold.

Tim rolled over and spit a little blood from his mouth, "Ow." he said as he stood up, "You okay?"

"I've been hit harder." Robin rubbed the back of his head and saw that his hand came away with blood on it, "Looks like we both need a doctor now though, so let's get moving."

"Right. The bike again, right?"

"You don't like motorcycles?" Robin grinned at him.

"I don't like going faster than a fighter jet through the streets of Gotham." Tim replied.

"You're gonna hate this ride then." Robin walked down two ally's and wheeled the bike out, "Grab a helmet and get on. I need to call Starfire."

* * *

Speedy looked down at his clothes as he stood outside Raven's room. Light gray long sleeve t-shirt, torn up jeans, and bare feet. His half red, half blonde hair was ruffled. 

"Talk about feeling underdressed..." he reached out and knocked.

"Come in." Raven said from the other side. He opened the doors and stepped in, shutting them behind him. Looking around, he had to admit, Raven knew how to make her room look cool.

The normal gothic decorating scheme was still in place, but candles had been placed all over and lit, giving the room a softer, more welcoming feel. Raven herself was standing next to a large candle to the side of her bed, just finishing lighting it. She wore black silk pants and a simple white tank top. Her hair was tied back away from her face, and her feet were bare.

"And here I thought I was underdressed." he smiled as he walked further into the room, "Didn't know this was a pajama party."

Raven smiled back at him, "You could just strip down to your boxers if that's what you sleep in."

"I'll think about it." Speedy sat on the edge of her bed, "What'd you want to see me about?"

"Us." Raven sat next to him and took his hand. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Raven leaned over and put her head on his shoulder.

"Feels... right... doesn't it?" Speedy snaked an arm around her shoulder and hugged her.

"Yeah. It's like... I feel secure when you hold me like this. Like... everything is right. You're comfortable."

"You make me feel... I don't know... more like myself?" Speedy shook his head, "I can't think of the words."

"Whole?" Raven supplied.

"Yeah." Speedy nodded and kissed her forehead, "Whole."

"Strange that it just kind of happened all of a sudden." Raven nuzzled his neck, "We fought all the time until today."

"You're different. It's like... you blossomed."

"Don't compare me to a flower. Please." Raven sat up and smiled at him.

"Face it Rae," Speedy poked her in the shoulder, "you're a girl, and you're going to get compared to a flower sometimes."

"Any you're a boy, so you'll get compared to a pig sometimes, but that's just what relationships are like, huh?"

"Yeah. That's the other thing... you make me feel like settling down."

"No more cruising for chicks?" Raven grinned, "Wow. You must have it almost as bad as I do."

"So this is love then?" Speedy arched an eyebrow at her.

"I don't know." she closed her eyes and shook her head, "Why don't we find out."

Speedy smiled wider as she ran her hands up under his shirt and pushed him down on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her down to him.

* * *

"Thanks for seeing us so late like this, Leslie." Robin grinned as the gray haired woman finished cleaning up the gash in Tim's leg. 

"I've put you and Batman back together more times than I care to count, Young Robin." Dr. Thompkins sighed, "I'd like to make it known however that I don't approve of you bringing kids like Tim into your fight."

"Please Dr. Thompkins, I did this on my own. Robin doesn't even want me on the streets." Tim smiled sheepishly, "Though he could have told me that _before_ I had to jump off a train..."

"Well, just take care of yourself from now on. That should do it." she stood up and walked to a sink to wash her hands, "Just change the bandages every day and try to put as little stain on it as possible for a few days."

"Right." Tim jumped down from the table he was sitting on in the dim office of Leslie Thompkins' free medical clinic.

"I'll just get Tim home then and be on my way home myself." Robin started for the door, "Come on Tim."

"Robin... could you give Batman a message for me?" he paused at the door and his shoulders went ridged, "Tell him to stop by sometime for dinner... without the mask."

"Bruce and I aren't exactly... on speaking terms right now. I'll leave a note or something."

Leslie's eyes darted over to Tim, who shook his head with a frown, "I already know." he said.

"Oh. Well... why are you and Bruce-"

"He did something... unforgivable. I'll see you around, Leslie. And thanks again." and Robin walked out of the office.

"Thanks Doc. I'll... try to talk to him. Maybe he'll open up to someone closer to his age." Tim walked for the door, "I'll drop by later this week and we can talk... I volunteer sometimes anyway, and you could probably use the help, right?"

Dr. Thompkins smiled, "I can always use some more help around the clinic. Thank you, Tim. I'll see you soon."

"See ya." and Tim was gone as well.

Leslie leaned back against the sink and stared at the floor, "Oh Bruce..." she whispered, "What have you done now?"

* * *

Raven's fingers traced lightly down Speedy's chest, "That," she said with a smile, "was wonderful." 

"Best I've ever had." Speedy grinned back and kissed her neck, "So what? Are we like... official now?"

"Sure." Raven stretched and leaned away from him so they could see each other while they talked. She started an imaginary conversation with herself, "Hey, Raven! That's a cute boy you got there on your arm! Yeah, isn't he hot?" Speedy rolled his eyes, "Well, who is he? Oh, well, you know. He's my boyfriend, Jason." she smiled wider, "Yep, that sounds right. Boyfriend." shaking her head, she giggled, "I have a boyfriend."

"And I have the worlds most wonderful woman as my girlfriend." Speedy reached out and brushed a the back of his hand across her cheek, "Beautiful too."

"Pretty maybe." Raven corrected him.

"No way. Don't sell yourself short, Rae. You're a knockout."

Raven rolled her eyes, "Uh huh."

"Every guy is entitled to their own opinion."

"Yours is slightly bias."

"I reserve that right. I think you're gorgeous." he nodded.

"In that case, I except your compliment and return it with this; you're sexy as hell, and great in the sack. Not to mention handsome."

"Glad handsome ranks right up there on your list of my positive traits..." it was Speedy's turn to roll his eyes.

Raven giggled again as she crawled back on top of him, "Well, good sex is important, right?"

"We might have to have good sex again if you're going to be lying on top of me naked like this."

"I don't really see a problem with that." Raven smiled a wicked smile and lowered her mouth to his.

* * *

Robin rolled back into the Batcave at almost five in the morning. He was sore, tiered, and cranky. Tim wouldn't stop bugging him about what he and Bruce were fighting about the whole way back to his apartment. Now he just wanted to curl up next to Starfire and sleep until next week. 

"Robin!" Starfire floated over to him as he placed the helmet on the back of the bike, "How is your head?"

"The doctor patched me right up. Didn't even need stitches." he smiled at her, "Let's get to bed. We've got to devise a plan for taking out the Joker tomarrow night."

"YOU will have to devise the plan." she corrected him as they walked to the changing rooms.

"Why me alone?" he asked, "I know you don't know Gotham that well yet, but you could still help me-"

"I will not be here." she shook her head with a smile, "I am going to visit Barbara tomorrow."

As his mouth fell open and he spluttered trying to find words, she winked at him and giggled as she walked into the girls changing room.

"Oh boy..." he muttered, and turned to go through his own door. His old girlfriend and his new one? "This can't turn out well..."

* * *

Closing Notes: It was long, but worth it, right? I hope so... I don't like writing crap.

* * *

Reviews from Chapter Seven!

Stolen Valkyrie- What can I say? You're reviews are always awsome, but this past one really stands out as something special. Thank you for your kind words and encoragment!

Samurai Star X- Nightwing will be making his appearence in the next story. :) One of my favorite DC hero's!

Jaina 12- I wanted to do something unique with my couples, so Jinx/BB and Raven/Speedy seemed like the way to go. I mean, come one, where else do you see those pairings? Red-X will be making a return to action soon, so watch for him!

losernerd- Everybody's been so down on my Cy/Sarah pairing. 'Special since Bummble Bee came into the TV show. Glad you like the pair, and I hope this chapter helped to educate everyone further about the origins of their relationship.

chickiidoo- So I didn't kill Robin. Yet. Look for more Speedy/Raven hotness in coming chapters.

StarryRavenFire-I perosnally think my Raven personality is the best one out there. Notmany people write her well as a more mature, funny kind of girl. Maybe it seems like I'm just tooting my own horn here, but I do a damn fine job of it. :) Glad you're loving the story, and I hope to have more up soon!

Bonekhan313- I know the lack of update wasmost likely more painful for you than anyoneelse (with the arguable exception of HyperChick, who seems... hyper.) so this must come as a breath of fresh air to you. I'll really, REALLY try to get the next one up faster.

Fallen Angel X- As I've stated before, nothing that happens in this story happens on a whim. The plan was never a straight Rae/BB pairing, but just a romantic interlude before sheended up with Speedy. She'll prolly stay there for the rest of the story. Right?

tryna-Make you a deal;I'll keep writing if you keep reading. Kay?

BeautyOfTheRose- Your biscut has sustained me over these long weeks of writing. Thank you, and I hope there was enough combat in this chapter to sate your bloodthirst for a while. :)If not, look to future chapters to be almost entierly combat.

Brogramn- As far as I can piece it together without doing any actual in depth research (hey, I'vealready got four term papers to wirte this semester...) that's the real history of Slade from the comics, modifiedslightly for this story. I'm feeling much better now (had to nurse my GF back from the brink of death, butshe's all better now too) and hope to write tons overspring break. KPAAF. Bro.

Greg867- I have no idea what the heck is wrong withthe site not letting you register.I know they were doing repairs and upgrades awhile back,so that might have been it, or you could be mis-spelling your e-mail adress. Hmm. Hope it all worked out for you, and hope your stories are coming along well. Give me a link and I'll try to find time to read what you've got!

Arezal- Kill off Cyborg? Are you nuts? Who would yell Booya! Who would callRobin a spiky haired midgit? Who wouldmake for good comic relief when BB isn't around? And trust me... interesting doesn't begin to describe what's coming up...

Kokuryu- I'm a big Birds Of Prey fan, so Canary is one of my favoirts too. Imade her younger in this story, because she hasn't hooked up with Babs yet. Hint, hint. :)

ChaosChampion-Things starting to make sense yet? No? Well, wait for the next chapter, or, for the Sarah thing to really make sense, you might have to wait for the next sequal... and on the contrary,Robin (Dick Grayson) ismy favorit DCU hero. That's whyI abuse him so much... I only hit him, because I love him.

skweeks50- The grand majority of what I bring in from the comics is reserch (my TeenTitans collection is VERYsmall) but I do collect Batman,Nightwing, and Birds Of Prey comics religiously. I'm a little behind right now (eating is still more important to me than comics) but hope to catch up soon.

robinstar- Everyone keeps saying that the chapters get better and better, but isn't that the point? You build action in a story unitl the climax, then have a gental downward slope to lead into the next story, or to finish off loose ends. That's just how fiction should be writen. Climax in T-Minus threechapters, by the way. I think. Unless I write too much, or decide to cut some out.

GodoLento- As youcan prolly tell, I have more important things to do than write this as well, which is why ittakes so long to do. :) So, no offence taken.

Hyper Chick- You rock. Keepup the hyper, and don't stop the reviews!

Melody Rasnake- Morefor you. Don't hurl me into a different dimension please.

Heaven's Angel- Stephie... I miss her so. Hope times has been better to you and stuffs.More Timmy goodness in upcoming chapters.

robin and star fan-The best way to learn to write like me is to just get out there and write a whole crap load of REALLYBAD fanfiction that you get flamed for constently, then actually listen to the sugestions people make, and improve your style based on them. I seem to have it down pretty good now. :)

Hutchy- Cyborgdeserves love. I mean, the guy got blown up, rebuilt, and now he's getting his butt kicked daily bybad guys.What a life.

Kazeangel- Did you read on? 'Cause that would answer all of your questions. :) Review again! I like to hear from you guys lots!

Quiggibub- Glad you like it. The OOCness islargely considered to be the best part of this fic (by my reviewers and myself). It gives depth where there wasn't any before, andreally delves into what the Titan'sCOULD be. Or at least I like to think so. :)

seattleitegirl-There's your BLOODY UPDATE! And Raven's not bi, and Star is working to get Robin and Bats back together. See? I dideverything you asked. :)

That's it for now! Later all!

* * *

Next Chapter: Star visits Babs in the hospital and they have a long chat. Robin devises a way to capture the Joker with Tim's help while dodging Bruce all day. Raven and Speedy have their first date... just before all Hell breaks loose in Jump City.Slademakes his returnknownwith a vengence. 


	9. Chapter 9

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans FanFiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes: Update! Not nearly as long as the last one took, and about 3,000 words longer! Holy crap is this getting to be long! Reviews for last chapter were good and mediocre, but nothing really BAD. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I wont be doing any responses at the end of this one, due to time restraints (I want to post it NOW!) so just a big thank you will have to do for now! I'll try to get some responses up at my LiveJournal, http: some time in the next few days.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

****

Speedy's eyes opened slowly as he swam out of the inky depths of sleep. His T-Comp was going off. The loud beeping was pounding at his brain like nails being driven with a impact hammer.

"Fuckin..." he reached over to the nightstand and groped about for a bit before swearing again, "Where is that thing?"

It was then that he became aware of movement next to him. He froze and prepared to leap from his bed. Then he remembered that he wasn't in his bed. He wasn't wearing any clothes either. And the person next to him was-

"It's my communicator, Jason, don't worry about it..." Raven said as she leaned over him and telekinetically moved the T-Comp to her hand. Her bare breasts pressed against his shoulder and chest as she flopped back down on top of him and checked the readout. Flicking the small device open, she sighed an exhausted sounding sigh, "Do you know what a _time zone_ is Robin?"

"It's at least five over there." came the Boy Wonder's response.

"You're the only normal human on the team out here, and I swear you sleep less than any of us." she lifted her head and glared at Robin with bleary eyes, "What is it?"

"I'm getting something funny on the visual. Who else is there?" he looked like he was trying to look around her.

"No one important." Speedy said.

"I'm lying in bed with my boyfriend, Robin. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Wait... you and Speedy?" Robin sounded shocked, "You two don't even like each other!"

"Things change." Raven glared harder.

Robin shook his head, "Wait 'till I tell Star this one... anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I dug up some info on Slade. Seems Batman was holding out on me."

"You don't sound too happy about that." Raven frowned.

"Well, I wouldn't be so miffed if one of our friends hadn't _died_ because he refused to share his information."

Raven's frown deepened, "Look, Robin-"

"Don't, Raven." he held up a hand, "I've heard it from Kori already. I just wanted to tell you that I've uploaded that file to the computers there. Take a look at it, okay?"

"Sure." Raven nodded, "Can we please go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah. Oh, and Speedy?"

"Yeah, Rob?" the archer lifted his head and looked into the T-Comp past Raven's head.

"Make her happy, okay?"

Raven's eyes softened, and Speedy smiled a genuine smile, "I'll do my best, Dick."

"Later you two." and the T-Comp went dead.

"Well," Raven said as she replaced the communicator on her bedside table, "that was fun."

"Hey, let's go out tonight." Speedy hugged her to him as they cuddled back down under the covers, "Just the two of us."

"I don't know Jason." she shook her head, "With the city in the state it's in-"

"We can figure something out, I'm sure."

Raven was silent for a moment, then sighed and squeezed him, "Yeah, we'll figure it out."

"Great." Speedy squeezed her once more, "Now let's get some more sleep."

* * *

Cyborg watched over Sarah as she slept. Speedy hadn't left Raven's room the night before, and since he didn't have a real bed in his own room, and the archer wasn't using Robin's, he had set his girlfriend up there. He'd left after she'd fallen asleep, and recharged his power cells, but had come back shortly after to sit with her.

Twice she'd woken up from nightmares, and twice he'd comforted her until she fell asleep again. He and the rest of the Titan's were used to the kind of carnage and destruction they had witnessed the day before, but Sarah hadn't ever seen anything like it. She had vomited for several minutes after Jinx had led her out of her apartment, after seeing the bodies of her neighbors littering the hall ways. Her friend, Tina, had lived, and was in critical condition at the hospital now, but eight of the other tenets had been announced DOA by the responding paramedics.

Cyborg frowned as he went over all of this in his head. He'd have to be extra careful with her for the next few days, until she recovered enough to talk about it. Horror like what she had lived through wasn't something you ever forgot, but he was hoping she was strong enough to move past it.

As he watched, her eyes drifted open and she stretched. Sitting up and letting the sheets fall down to reveal her topless form, she smiled at him, "Morning, Baby." she said.

"It's still pretty early." he replied with a return smile and an appreciative once over of her finely formed body, "Why don't you try to get some more sleep?"

"Sure thing." she flopped back down, "Don't feel you have to stay on my account Cy... I'm sure you have work you could be doing."

"Yeah, I do. I'll see if anyone else is up yet." he stepped over to the bed and leaned down. Kissing her gently on the temple, he smiled against her, "Have some good dreams for me, okay?"

"Okay..." came her sleepy reply. She was out again in just a few moments.

"Good girl." he said gently as he stood and walked for the door.

* * *

"Richard?" Starfire floated into the room they were now sharing at the manor from the closet, "What do you think of this?"

Robin looked up from the book he was reading to see his girlfriend's latest outfit. She'd been trying on clothes for the past half hour, and still hadn't found an ensemble she liked.

His eyes widened a little when he saw her now. Even though he saw her every day, her natural grace and beauty never ceased to take his breath away. Her hair was loose, falling down about her shoulders in gentle crimson waves, only to blend color seamlessly with the pale lavender sleeveless top she wore. A black skirt that dropped just past her knees, and short black heals topped off the outfit. A hint of makeup around her eyes and mouth gave her a sharper, more provocative look than she normally had.

"You look... wow." Robin got up from where he'd been reading the morning paper on the bed and walked over to her. Circling her once he nodded, "Yep. Most beautiful creature in the galaxy."

Starfire giggled, "You are being silly, Lover." she landed and kissed him, "All the same, thank you."

"Just stating the obvious." Robin grinned at her as he took her in his arms, "You know, you don't _really_ have to go see Babs..."

"Oh, but I must!" she smiled a wicked smile, "I need to 'dig up the dirt' on you."

"Just don't... tell her about... um..."

"Having sex with you?" Star asked as she poked him in the ribs.

"Yeah."

"I will refrain from going into detail." she grinned wider and floated up out of his grasp, "Visiting hours at the hospital begin at 9:00, correct?"

"Yeah. Try to maintain a low profile too. The last thing Babs needs is people getting suspicious of her because a super hero randomly comes calling."

Star nodded and kissed him once more, "I am sure Alfred is waiting for me. Goodbye, Richard!"

"Be home by 4:00 tonight, okay?" he sent a look at her, "We still have work to do."

Star waved and flew out the door.

* * *

Cyborg walked into the kitchen to find Jinx sitting at the table, drinking a mug of tea. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, he saw that it was only 6:30 in the morning. "Up early today, aren't you?"

"I was up at 6:00 to work out a little. My moves are a little sluggish. Haven't been keeping my skills very sharp since I went straight." she sipped her tea and shrugged.

"We never did spar, did we?" he grinned, "Up for a few rounds?"

Jinx rolled her eyes, "No. I'm still full from dinner last night. If you hit me I'd probably spew on you."

"Nasty." Cy replied as he chuckled.

"So, did you and Sarah bust out Robin's handcuffs last night and have a good time?"

"Naw. We just-" he caught himself and shook his head, "We had fun."

"Good for you. Gar was still sore and wiped out from getting shot. We slept."

"Can't have sex every night."

Jinx sighed, "Guess not."

"You are one horny little Witch, aren't you?"

Jinx smiled again and took another sip of her tea.

* * *

Two hours later, life had come to Titan's Tower. Speedy and Raven were the last of the team to assemble in the rec-room, having slept in to figure out their plans for the day.

"Okay, here's the deal." Raven addressed the assembled Titans (and Sarah), "The city got hit hard yesterday, so we need to patrol it hard today. Speedy and Jinx are on first patrol until 3:00 P.M., followed by myself until 9:00, then Cyborg, you get the lonely shift from then until 5:00 A.M."

"Gar's just gonna lay around all day?" Cyborg asked as he poked the green changeling.

"No, he's going to do research." Raven rolled her eyes at Beast Boy's sounds of protest, "Slade is still out there, and I want to know what he's planning. Robin uploaded Batman's files on Slade to us last night, so Gar, you go over them with a fine tooth comb. We need to find where he is if we're going to stop him."'

"Uh, Raven?" Speedy had just turned on the news, "I think we might want to reconsider our plans."

"Wha-" she looked over to the T.V. and saw smoke pouring from the top of a building. Looking down at the caption, she saw the name of the city.

"Morro Bay." she whispered. The penthouse the collector who owned the Cup of Gargemesh lived in looked like it had been completely blown off of the top of the building, "Turn it up." she ordered, and Speedy complied.

The voice of the reporter on the news chopper came through loud and clear, "... a battle two nights ago, in which the Titan's were victorious, Dr. Goswald was killed as his penthouse was blown to pieces, just after his prize artifacts were stolen-"

An alarm went off then, and Speedy quickly switched screens to the city status report. There was a blip in the middle of downtown, and information scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

_Explosion at the Struas Building... several people injured... caused by unknown explosive type... Slade taking responsibility..._

"Speedy, Cyborg, head up to Morro bay to check for clues and find out exactly what was stolen. If Dr. Goswald had more than one worthy object, we're screwed." Raven whirled around to Jinx, "Jinx, you're with me. We're going to check out this explosion."

"I'll get changed." the rest of the team was in uniform, but Jinx was still wearing work out cloths.

"Gar," Raven looked over to Beast Boy, who looked worried, "Research."

"I'll help." Sarah said as she stepped up next to the changeling.

Raven nodded and stalked off after Jinx while Cyborg kissed Sarah on the top of the head and ran off after Speedy, who had already dashed off to the garage.

* * *

Robin's eyes were getting tiered from staring at a computer screen for too long. He'd been too excited by the prospect of catching the Joker to get much sleep, and as soon as Starfire had left, he'd rushed down to the Batcave to begin devising his attack plan.

Leaning back, he went over his options again. The Joker was hiding out in an abandoned warehouse next to an old shoemaking factory that had gone out of business years before. The surrounding area was all paved, and numerous hiding places were available. Without detailed surveillance, he wouldn't be able to make any definite plans for a direct assault. The Joker would have henchmen, all of them armed, and taking all of them out without one shot going off would be almost impossible. One shot was all it would take to alert the rest of them, so the plan was useless.

"Damnit." he looked back at the schematic for the warehouse, then rubbed his eyes. He would have to draw the Joker out somehow. A tempting score? No, the Joker would pass it up in favor of pursuing whatever plan he had in the works. A direct call out? No, he wouldn't respond if it wasn't Batman doing the calling. A victim to play with? Maybe, but they'd have to be entertaining enough to draw the Joker himself out.

"I need a decoy." he muttered.

"For what?" Robin almost jumped out of his seat. Twirling around he glared at Bruce as the larger man walked past the computer terminals on his way to the changing rooms.

"Kind of early for Batman to be out isn't it?" he asked with a fair amount of contempt in his voice.

"I have work to do too, you know."

Robin rolled his eyes, "Right." he shut down his terminal and started for the elevator that would take him back to the manor.

Bruce paused at the door to the changing room, "If you need help with something-"

"You've already made it fairly clear that you're not interested in helping me unless it serves your purposes." Robin didn't turn around as he continued to stalk off.

"If this is about yesterday, Dick-"

Now he did whirl around and pin Bruce with a glare, "Of course this is about yesterday! You have no comprehension of how angry I am with you, do you?"

"Obviously not. If you had wanted the information-"

"You should have contacted me as soon as you found out Slade was trying to convert me!" Robin shouted.

"Don't raise your voice to me in my cave, Dick."

"Fuck you." Robin narrowed his eyes, "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore."

"As long as you're in this city, you're my partner before you're a Titan-"

Robin cut him off again, "Partners share information with each other," he growled, "they don't withhold it because they've had their feelings hurt."

Bruce turned to face him fully now, and the first hints on anger started to enter his voice, "You came through the situation just fine, Dick, I don't see why you're so upset about this!"

Robin's mouth fell open, "You don't get it do you?" Bruce just glared back at him. Robin quickly closed the distance between them and grabbed a handful of his mentors shirt. Yanking him down to eye level, Robin shouted in his face, "A fifteen year old girl _died_ because we didn't have the information we needed to stop Slade when he was trying to convert me!" surprise, then shock started to register on Bruce's face, "When he failed with me, he converted her, twisted her, and used her against us! In the end, she gave her life to save ours! She's a fucking _statue_ now, Bruce!"

"Dick... I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Yeah?" Robin let him go and stared him right in the eye, "If it's not about you or Gotham, you don't usually think at all, do you?"

Bruce could only stand and watch as Robin stalked away from him for the second time in as many days.

* * *

Starfire stepped up to the receptionist desk on the fifth floor of Gotham General, and cleared her throat. The young nurse looked up from where she was filing her nails and smacked her gum, "Yeah?"

"Hello, my name is Kori Anders. I'm here to see Barbara Gorden." she smiled sweetly.

"Alright. She's the fifth door down on the right. Might be sleeping though."

"Thank you very much." Star nodded and walked down the hall. Stopping at the proper door, she adjusted her clothes a little before opening it and stepping in.

The bed was empty.

Confused, Star stepped back out into the hallway and checked the chart hanging next to the door. Confirming that this was the right room, she looked again, but the bed was still empty.

Just as she was about to go back and alert the nurse on duty, she heard a noise from down the hall that sounded like a muffled scream. Moving quickly, the red haired alien flew down the hall and looked through the open door of a supply room just in time to see one of the most remarkable things she'd ever laid eyes on.

A male orderly had one of the nurse's hands pinned behind her back with one hand and the other over her mouth. He was bending her over a desk and trying to hike up her skirt in the back. He was completely oblivious to the young woman in a wheel chair behind him holding a broom up over her head.

A crack and a thud later and the orderly was trying to pick himself up off the ground, "No means no, buddy." the red haired woman in the wheel chair said with a sneer.

"Bitch!" the orderly moved fast and grabbed the wheel of the chair, tipping it over. The young woman fell to the ground with a cry of pain as the nurse screamed. Raising his foot, the orderly prepared to stop the nurse's savior.

Star flew forward and slugged him off his feet. The man landed on his back, grasping at his broken nose, and gasping in pain. He started to sit up again, but again, the handle of the broom smashed into his head, putting him down this time.

"Damn." the young woman pulled herself over to her chair and attempted to right it, "Go get security." she ordered the nurse, who nodded and took off running. Star stepped forward and helped the young woman back into her chair, "Thanks, whoever you are-" she finally looked up and saw Star for the first time, "Oh, no way..."

"Miss Gorden?" Starfire asked as she held out her hand, "Or should I say Bargirl?"

Grinning and taking the offered hand, the red haired young woman shook her head, "Just Babs will do. Starfire, right?"

"My friends call me Kori."

"Kori it is then. Thanks for the help. I'm not exactly up to fighting form yet."

Star smiled, "You are still recovering from a very serious injury. You should not be out of your room, let alone beating lecherous orderlies senseless."

"Couldn't help myself." Babs shrugged, "So what brings you to Gotham?"  
"In all honesty, you did." Star blushed a little.

"Afraid I was going to steal Dick from you?" Babs grinned.

"Yes. I did not know of your previous relationship when he came out here, and when I found out, I flew over right away. I am sorry if I have offended you-"

"Don't be silly," Babs started to wheel herself back to her room, and Star fell into step next to her, "I'd have done the same thing in your situation."

"Richard informed me that you kicked him out of your room a few days ago. I thought you might like some company."

Babs nodded fervently, "I've had plenty of visitors, mind you, but no one really my own age or... profession."

"I see." Star smiled as they reached Babs' room, "I am glad that I came then."

"Help me back into the bed, will you?" Babs asked as she pulled herself up along side of it, "Normally I'd be able to on my own, but the stitches-"

"Oh!" Starfire stepped up quickly, "Do not stain yourself, Babs!" and she easily lifted the other girl into the bed.

"Wow." Babs blinked, "You're a strong one, aren't you?"

"Tameranians have almost ten times the normal human strength." Star replied with a smile and a nod.

"Well, now that we're comfy," Babs motioned to a chair, which Star gladly sat down in, "why don't you tell me all about how you and Dick came to be dating."

"All of it?" Star asked, looking concerned.

"I've got all day if you do." Babs smiled and leaned in a bit, "I want all the gory details. All the stuff I can blackmail him with later."

Star giggled, "If you think you can handle it..."

"Oh, this is going to be _great_." Babs rubbed her hands together.

* * *

"Wow." was all Speedy could say as he and Cyborg looked up at the smoking remains of the top few floors of the building Dr. Goswald had lived in.

"That was a really nice place, too." Cyborg shook his head, "And the doctor was still in there when it was blown."

"How do we know?" Speedy arched an eyebrow and looked around at the emergency crews as they rushed about doing their jobs.

"They found what was left of him." Cyborg sighed, "Not much to see here. We need to know what he had up there though. If he had anything other than that cup..."

"We could be fighting zombies in the morning." Speedy nodded.

"Excuse me?" the two teen hero's looked over to their left to see a nervous looking man in his thirties, "Are the two of you Teen Titans?"

"Yeah." Cyborg turned fully to face the man.

"Oh good..." I'm Roger Holmen, Dr. Goswald's... um... former assistant."

"Really?" Speedy stepped up, "Can you tell us about his collection? We're interested in the Four Worthy Objects, specifically."

"Yes, the Doctor owned the Cup of Gargemesh, and he'd just recently acquired what we believe is the Ring of Mordront."

The two Titans groaned, "Great... all Slade needs now are the coin and the staff and he's got his own little matched set of evil artifacts." Cyborg shook his head.

"Actually... I have the Ring locked up in the safe at the Institute." Holmen said with a nervous smile.

Cyborg and Speedy stared for a moment, "You're not kidding?"

"No..." the nervous man looked confused.

"Um..." Cyborg rubbed the back of his head, "I think you'd better take us there right away. It's probably best if we hand on to that Coin for right now."

"Oh!" Holmen jumped a little, "Yes! Right away!" and he turned and ran off.

The two Titans looked at each other and shrugged, then dashed off after him.

* * *

"You think he wanted to make a mark or something?" Jinx asked from where she was crouched on a steel beam that was protruding from the side of the Struas Building. The blast had destroyed the top seven floors of the twenty floor building, but only in the front, leaving the offices beyond looking like a life sized doll house.

"I don't know what to think." Raven replied, "If he's going after the Worthy Objects, then why blow up this building? Struas Industries makes plastic injection moldings, not artifacts of purest evil."

"Maybe he was trying to draw us away from Morro Bay?"

"Maybe." Raven floated around, looking for survivors, "I don't think anyone lived through this."

"It'd be hard to... it had to be some kind of particle accelerated bomb to do this much damage in such a concentrated area." Jinx jumped back into the ruins and kicked a chunk of rubble, "Like Robin's disks or Speedy's arrows. Either one of them could make a bomb of the same size they use that could pack a bang this big with that tech."

"So maybe... he used it in a fight?"

Jinx snorted, "Who do you think he was fighting, Superman? This kind of firepower..." she trailed off as something caught her eye, "Oh no. Shit... Rae, over here..."

Raven noted the fear in Jinx's voice as she flew over and looked to wear Jinx was staring.

A black gloved hand with a bright red X on it stuck out from under a pile of rubble.

"Brian!" Raven shouted as she flew forward and started moving chunks of rock with her powers. Jinx rushed up and started moving away what rubble she could, until they had cleared out enough to see his face.

The mask was cracked, and a trickle of blood ran from where it was broken by his brow line. A groan escaped Red-X as Raven continued to move rocks.

"Hey, X!" Jinx said in a strained voice, "I know we're not exactly friends, but we're here to help, okay?"

"No time..." Red-X pulled a hand free from where it had just been pinned by a steel girder and reached for Raven, "Slade... fought him..."

"He used a bomb to blow half the building up. Guess he didn't quite kill you, huh?"

"Wouldn't... give him the coin... tried to fight him off..."

"Shhh... quiet now, Brian. We're going to get you back to the Tower and fix you up-"

"He took it... broke my arm... Raven..." Red-X dropped his arm back to the ground, "He's got the coin."

With that, he passed out again.

Raven sat back on her heels and shook her head, "Fuck."

"We have to get him medical attention, Rae." Jinx reached over and shook her friend lightly, "Come on."

"Right." with a wave of her hand, Raven cleared the rest of the rubble away, and pulled her cloak over Red-X, "Deal with the cops." she said to Jinx as she whirled her cloak around and vanished with the injured thief.

"Uh huh. Sure." Jinx sighed as she walked to the edge of the blasted building and secured a grappler, "I'll just deal with the cops, then WALK home. Thanks Rae." and she jumped.

* * *

"So," Babs giggled, "pot makes you fly into a battle rage and try to kill everyone around you?"

Star's cheeks colored, "Yes."

"Never heard of that reaction before... wonder what cocaine would do to you..."

"Oh, I do not wish to find out, Friend Babs!" Star looked worried.

"Don't sweat it." Babs giggled again, "So after they stopped you from killing everyone..."

Starfire picked up her story where she had left off, "The police showed up and everything was sorted out. I felt badly that so many bad things had come from my wanting to go out on the town, so I flew off to be by myself for a while, but of course, Richard found me..." she trailed off, remembering, "He made a wonderful speech, and I got to see his eyes for the first time... and he kissed me for the first time as well..."

"Aw..." Babs smiled a genuine smile, "He's really become a sappy romantic, hasn't he?"

"I hope so..." Star sighed, "We have not had the chance for a real date yet."

"Sorry," the older girl smiled, "If I had know, I would have waited a week to get shot up."

"Oh, do not joke about such things!" Star looked miserable, "I feel very badly for you, and I would not wish to make light of such a serious situation-"

"Kori!" Babs laughed, "Calm down! I'M the one making the jokes here. I mean, yeah, it sucks, but all I can do is make the best of it, you know?"

"I know... you are a very courageous girl, Barbara Gorden."

"Thanks." Babs grinned an evil grin, "So, have you slept with him yet?"

Star was still concentrating on feeling bad for Babs, so she didn't catch herself, "Yes."

"WHAT?" Babs's mouth dropped open, "You seriously had sex with Dick Grayson?"

"Hmm?" Starfire's eyes widened, "Oh! I was not supposed to tell you like that!" she buried her face in her hands, "I am sorry, Babs!"

Babs laughed long and hard, "Oh my... oh God... Dick actually..." she calmed down after several minutes, during which time, Star's face was bright red, "Okay, Kori. I know he probably told you not to, but I want details on this one. I have _got_ to know what he's like in bed."

"I do not know... he was very adamant about it..." Star looked hesitant.

"Kori," Babs looked at her seriously, "Starfire... I _live_ to make Dick's life difficult. This is too good to pass up. Come on," she grinned, "sisters in arms?" she held out her hand.

Starfire looked at the offered hand and smiled, "I would be delighted to have another sister! Mine is... well... evil."

"Evil?"

"She conquered our home planet and almost forced me to marry a disgusting slime monster."

"Oh. Yeah, that's pretty evil. Now... about you and Dick..."

"You are not going to give up are you?" Star smiled and shook her head, "Alright then. First of all, you must understand that I made the first move..."

* * *

"When that thief tried to steal the cup from him a few days ago," Roger Holmen explained as he unlocked the door to his office at the Morro Bay Archeological Institute, "Dr. Goswald had me bring the Ring here for safe keeping. He figured who ever was after the Arcana wouldn't just stop when they got the Cup."

"He was right," Speedy said as they stepped into the cluttered office, "though he should have contacted us instead and had us hold on to both of them. Titan Tower is the best defended place within a thousand miles.

"And it cost him his life..." Holmen sniffed a little, "I'll have to carry on his research into the mating habits of the Stegosaur..."

Speedy and Cyborg glanced at each other, and shrugged. Cyborg stepped up, "Hey, man. Could we get this show on the road? Every second we wait, Slade could be getting closer."

Holmen started then nodded vigourously, "Yes, yes. Hold on a moment, I'll just get it out of the safe over here.." He walked over to a three foot tall safe that was being used as a table for a large stack of papers, and began to turn the knob to the proper combination. The safe clicked and the door swung open.

"Here it is," Holmen said as he stood up, "The Ring of Mordront, called the Arcana Modus."

"Great." Speedy walked over, "We'll keep it safe, Mr. Holm-" he was cut off as the wall of the office exploded, blowing all three of them off their feet.

"The hell?" Cyborg sat up in time to see a steel boot slam into his face, blasting him into oblivion.

Speedy groaned and pulled himself out of a pile of dry way and broken lumber. Looking around, he saw Cyborg down, Holmen lying a short distance away, obviously dead-

And Slade standing next to the body, the black Ring of Mordront between two fingers.

"Exquisite, don't you think?" the masked man said, "It's almost done now."

"You're not leaving here with that Ring!" Speedy shouted as he pulled an arrow and fired it point blank.

Slade caught it.

Speedy barely had time to register the shock before Slade's fist connected with his jaw, blasting him off his feet and through the next wall. As he slumped to the ground, he heard the super villains parting remarks,

"We'll see each other soon, Speedy. Very soon indeed."

Then everything went dark.

* * *

"What the heck is IVANS?" Sarah asked as she scrolled through a part of the Slade file that Robin had sent them.

"It's a military anagram for an Item Vital to National Security." Beast Boy replied with a yawn as he stretched in his chair, from where he was working at his own computer, "Why?"

"Slade's got about seven of them on his stolen items list." Sarah shook her head, "And you guys fight this monster?"

"He's a nasty one for sure." Beast Boy looked grim as he stared at the screen again, "I'll never forget what he did to Terra."

"Oh, Gar." Sarah stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. She hugged him lightly, "She was a good person deep down... she saved all of us in the end."

"I know... but it didn't have to be like that. If I'd just been able to get through to her sooner-"

"You can't beat yourself up over it forever Gar." Sarah stood back and smiled at him.

"Sure I can." he shook his head, "Everyone I've ever failed to save... I remember."

Sarah knew from talks with Cyborg that Beast Boy had a serious side, one that drove him more than anything else in the world, but she'd never seen it directly. Now she was starting to understand exactly what it was that her boyfriend was talking about, "That's why you do this, isn't it?" he looked back at her with a confused expression, "I mean, you have the ability, and the drive needed to do this job... but you're really here to help people. To keep them safe from the bad guys."

"Some one has to." Beast Boy shook his head, "I'll always do what I can... I mean, it's just the right thing to do, isn't it?"

"If I had half of your ability, or courage, I'd be out there with you." Sarah sighed and went back to her seat, "As it is, this is the best I can do."

"Well, the sooner we get through all of this, the sooner we can eat lunch. What'dya think about tofu burgers?"

Sarah laughed and was about to reply when a black bird made of shadow flared to live in the room, then materialized into Raven. The front of her white leotard was stained with a light smattering of blood, and she wore a worried look on her face, "Sarah, I need you in the medical room with me."

The blond girl stood up quickly, "Oh no... Jenny...?"

"Jinx is fine, but we found Bri... Red-X. He's pretty banged up, and he needs medical attention. Gar," Raven turned to a confused looking Beast Boy, "Call Cy and Speedy. I want to know what they know."

"On it." Beast Boy yanked out his T-Comp as Sarah rushed off to the medical room with Raven.

* * *

Cyborg sat up as his systems came back on-line, "Shit..." he looked around the blown up room and spotted Holmen. Getting up and walking over, he checked for vitals. Finding none, he checked for cause of death.

"His neck was broken..." Cyborg breathed.

"Before or after the explosion?" the robotic Titan glanced over his shoulder to see Speedy waking up from where it looked like he'd been smashed through the next wall.

A quick examination told Cy all he needed to know, "After. Someone grabbed his chin and twisted."

"Slade." Speedy walked over, "Wonder why he didn't kill me too?"

Cyborg was about to reply when their communicators started going off. He picked up first, "Talk to me, B."

"Gar." both Titans present rolled their eyes, "Raven wants to know what's up."

"Well, you can tell her that the cup is gone, and after a brief encounter of the Slade kind, he got the ring away from us as well."

"Great. I guess Raven and Jinx found Red-X in what was left of the Struas Building. He's here now, and Sarah's helping to patch him up."

"We're on our way back." Cyborg said, "We'll see you there, man."

"Right. Gar out."

After the line went dead, Cyborg turned to Speedy, "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll live." Speedy rubbed his jaw, "Let's just get back. I don't need an old lover putting the moves on my girlfriend."

"Jelous of X?" Cyborg teased as they climbed through the rubble and waved to emergency crews as they pulled up.

"No! Just..." Speedy glared at him, "Yes."

Cyborg chuckled.

* * *

"Tim!" Jake Drake called through the door of his son's room, "Get up, sleepy head! The phone is for you!"

Tim rolled over in bed and slowly got up. He was still sore from the night before, and moving hurt like hell, "I'm coming..." he called back as he stumbled to the door. Opening it enough to get the phone from his dad, he smiled weakly, "Sorry for sleeping in like this Dad."

"Don't worry about it, Son. No school today."

"Yeah..." shutting the door and lifting the cordless phone to his ear, he cleared his throat, "Hello?"

"Tim? It's Dick." Tim's eyes popped open and he was suddenly much more awake, "Take a look out your window."

Walking to the window, Tim pushed the drapes aside and looked down at the street from the second floor apartment he lived in with his father. Down below, parked on the opposite side of the road from the building, Robin sat on the hood of an expensive looking sports car, waving up at him.

"What the hell?" Tim breathed, "What are you doing here?"

"You feel up for another job?" Robin asked.

"Um... I'm still a little sore..."

"I didn't ask if you were sore."

Tim grinned, "Yeah, I'm up for anything. What do you have in mind?"

"I'll tell you all about it in fifteen minutes when you get down here."

"See you then." and Tim hit the off button. Doing a little dance of glee, he celebrated having gotten the last word in for once.

* * *

"So what's this all about?" Tim asked as he climbed into the passenger side of what he now saw was a brand new modal Viper.

"We're going after the Joker." Robin replied, as he pulled away from the curb and shifted into second just moments later.

"Right now? Dick, you're not even wearing your mask."

Robin frowned over at him, "No, not right now. Right now I'm going to show you what I need you to do." he shook his head and corrected himself, "What I would _like_ for you to do. You know you never have to do anything you don't want to."

"I know. Can I ask... why you're going after the Joker so hard right now? I mean, you left Gotham for Jump, right?" Robin nodded, "So why'd you come back for this?"

The Joker... shot Batgirl." Robin stared straight ahead, "She's a good friend... I came back to see her, and as long as I'm in town, I figured I might as well take the Joker down too."

"So why do you need my help? Batman-"

"Bruce and I aren't working together on this case." Robin shook his head and sighed, "I'm not sure I can ever work with him again after this."

"What'd he do, Dick?" Tim stared down at the floor of the car and spoke softly, "What'd he do that was so bad that you're splitting from him?"

Robin's hands tightened on the wheel, "He withheld information from me on a vital case...a friend of mine, another Titan... died as a result."

Tim didn't respond. Glancing over, Robin saw him staring out the window. He just looked ahead again and the silence stretched between them.

After almost ten minutes of silence, Tim spoke again, "It... kind of rattles you to the bone, you know? Hearing that Batman made a mistake."

"Bruce isn't perfect." Robin replied, "Even he screws up sometimes."

"But not like this." Tim shook his head, "All you ever hear of the Batman is that he saves people, and captures criminals. That he never kills, and never lets anyone die."

"Yeah. You don't hear about the countless people that _do_ lose their lives. The ones that we can't get to in time. The ones that die when the bullets start flying. The ones that die when buildings collapse, or bombs explode." Robin hauled back a fist and slammed it into the dash, crushing the vent on the right side of the steering column, "You don't hear the stories about those people. The ones we can't save."

Tim was silent again for a moment, then spoke slowly and softly, "Not even Batman and Robin can save everyone, Dick. It's just not possible."

"That wont stop us from trying." Robin replied, "Or from beating ourselves up when we fail."

As silence descended on them once again, Tim looked back out the window. With a head full of new thoughts to consider, he found that he had nothing to say that would even compare to the nobility, and bravery of the young man sitting next to him.

* * *

Babs just stared at Starfire when the Tameranian was done talking. She blinked once, then shook her head, "Damn girl. I don't think you have to worry about Dick leaving you for me, 'cause I couldn't ever do half that stuff."

"Have you ever tried?" Star cocked her head to the side with a quizzical look.

"Oh, I've had boyfriends, and I've slept with a few guys, but..." she smiled, "I don't swallow, and I definitely never had the energy you were describing. Though I can see now that all that tension Dick has stored up comes directly from sexual repression." Star giggled, "He wont be able to fight if you keep boffing him like that."

Star's smile faded down and she looked at her new friend seriously, "What do you think you'll do now?"

Babs looked away, out the window as her own smile faded, "I don't know. I guess I'll go back to being a librarian. Bruce got me a job at one of the libraries he put up a few years back, and if I work hard enough, I might be able to make Head Librarian in a few years."

"You know what I meant, Barbara." Star reached over and took Babs's chin in her hand, turning her head gently back around, "What are you going to do with your _other_ job?"

Babs spoke in a much softer voice, "I can't exactly go back out and start swinging around on rooftops again, now can I?" she said in a harsh tone, "I'm done, Star. I'm retired."

"You do not think you will find a way to help out?"

"Maybe, but..." she shook her head, "I've been having nightmares... about... guns."

"That is understandable. You have reason." Star smiled gently, "It is nothing to be ashamed of."

"But how can I help Batman if I'm scared half to death at even the sight of a firearm? I don't know if I could... do it any more." a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Babs, Batman chose you for the job because he knew you would never quit. That you would always find a way to get back up after being knocked down and continue to fight." Starfire patted her leg, "You will find a way."

Babs sniffed a bit and smiled back, "Yeah. No sense in crying about the present, because you never know what the future is going to hold."

Star looked at her oddly for a moment, and Babs squirmed under her scrutiny, "What?"

"Nothing... you just... sounded like Raven just then."

Babs grinned at that, "Ah, the mysterious Raven. You know, back when he first met her, I got Dick to admit that she had a nice rack."

Star threw her hands up, "Do my breasts not impress anyone?" she shook her head, "I have heard more people talk about Raven's breasts in the past week than any other time since I have known her! And do mine get mentioned at all?" Babs burst out laughing as Starfire continued to rant, "No! They do not! Just because Raven's are _slightly_ bigger, does not mean that her 'rack' is better than mine!"

"How much bigger? I could sell that info to a tabloid for a pretty penny." Babs waggled her eyebrows.

"If it will make everyone stop talking about her breasts and not mine, then fine! She wears a 36D cup bra, and mine is a 34C!"

Babs laughed again, "I'm right there with you Kori! The 34C girls!" she held out her hand and the two of them exchanged a high five before they burst into fits of giggles.

* * *

Beast Boy glanced over his shoulder from where he stood in the door way of the medical room, and saw Speedy and Cyborg stepping out of the elevator as it opened. As they walked up, Speedy asked, "How is he?"

"Stable. Raven worked her magic on him, and she and Sarah have been patching up his minor wounds for a while now." Beast Boy shook his head, "He was in a pretty bad way when Rae brought him in, though."

"How'd he get blown up?" Cyborg asked as all three of them grouped around the doorway and looked in on Raven and Sarah as the two girls applied bandages to the various cuts and burns all over Red-X's body. His suit was trashed, torn and burnt in numerous places, and his mask lay off to the side, revealing his blond hair, stained red with blood all along one side.

"Slade." came Raven's rely, "The bastard beat the crap out of him, took the coin, and blew him up."

"And now he's got the cup and the ring." Cyborg shook his head, "Just one more to go."

"Do we know where the staff is?" Speedy asked.

"No." Raven shook her head, "The one thing that we do have going for us is that no one really knows where the Arcana Primus is."

Sarah stepped back from Red-X and stared at Raven, "Wait... Arcana Primus?"

"Yes. Do you know anything?" Raven looked at her in disbelief.

"Yeah, it was on the IVANS list of objects Slade has stolen. The Bone Staff of Evelon right?"

"Right." Raven groaned and stepped away from X as well, "He's got all of them."

"But he still can't do anything with them." all heads turned to see Jinx standing behind the three boys in the doorway.

"How'd you sneak in like that?" Speedy asked.

"You weren't paying attention." she shrugged and looked past him to Raven, "He would still need the Libris Mortis to get the proper spell to raise the dead."

"We know you have one of those, Rae." Cyborg said to the psion, and she nodded, "So where are the other four you were talking about?"

Raven thought for a moment, "I know two of them are held in highly fortified S.T.A.R. Labs facilities in different parts of the world, and a third is on display in the Dark Magic Museum in London, which is also highly fortified." she shrugged, "No idea about the other one."

"The HIVE had it." Jinx tapped her chin, "I don't know what the heck Brother Blood did with it though. I'd already taken that course by the time he became Headmaster."

Cyborg growled, "Probably sold it to the highest bidder!"

"It's possible. He didn't like magic that much. He always pushed tech over the arcane." Jinx shrugged.

"We need to find that book." Raven stared at Jinx, "Is there any way you can get back to the current HIVE and find out if they still have it?"

"Not after we trashed Armory and Flyte the other night." Jinx shook her head, "I'm sure it's all over the HIVE by now that I've turned Titan." Suddenly she snapped her fingers and got a gleam in her eye, "But I know someone who might know about it! He used to hack the school's systems all the time to find out grades and stuff... he always kept track of what they were making money on and spending it on too..."

"Who, Jinx?" Raven stepped forward.

"Gizmo! How fast can we get me to Arkham?"

"With the JLA's transporter technology? Pretty damn fast." Cyborg shook his head, "Do you really think he'll talk?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Jinx looked over at Raven imploringly, "I have to try this though."

Raven took a moment to consider, "Fine. Cy, set up the transport. Speedy, I hate to say it, but it looks like you're on patrol by yourself until Red-X wakes up. I'll be able to join you after I've talked to him further, but for now..."

"I understand, Rae. I'll be on the streets if anyone needs me!" he waved over his shoulder as he left.

"What should I do?" Beast Boy asked, "I feel kind of useless just sitting at a computer all day."

"I'll heal the rest of your wound later." Raven pointed at him, "Go finish with the Slade file."

"Fine, fine." he rolled his eyes and walked off as well.

Cyborg turned and clapped Jinx on the shoulder, "You ready to get your molecules scrambled girl?"

"Ready as I'll ever be..." she looked grim.

"Then let's go contact the Watch Tower."

As they left as well, Raven turned back to Sarah, "Watch over Brian for me, will you? I should contact Robin."

"Sure." Sarah sat down next to the unmasked thief. Raven nodded, then transported herself to her room.

With a sigh, she pulled out her T-Comp. Robin wasn't going to be happy with her. More than that, she was angry with herself for letting Slade get so far in his plot. She couldn't afford to fail this mission. Too much was riding on it.

Flipping open the communicator, she punched in an access code, "Raven to Robin."

* * *

Robin parked the Viper in next to a building in the old industrial district of Gotham. When newer technologies were invented to replace the old manufacturing methods, the factories in the part of town they were in now were abandoned and the land put up for sale or lease.

The area was too dirty though, and the soil too polluted. Robin knew that Wayne Industries had plans to clean up the area, and turn this part of town into a better place, but those plans were still at least a year from completion. Implementation would then take a further four years, and even then it would still be far from perfect.

For right now though, the area was perfect for Gotham's scum to go to ground, or to hide out like Joker was. As he and Tim stepped out of the car, Robin took a quick look around for anyone who might want to steal the rims off the car. Not seeing anyone in the vicinity, he enabled the security system and walked to the side of the building.

"You ready for a little recon?" he asked Tim.

"Sure. What are we looking for?"

"The Joker's hide-out is a block over from here. From the top of this factory, we should be able to get a good view of his set up. How many guards he has on rotation, where any traps might be set, the usual stuff. I just need to know the area better before I decide if I want to use you as a decoy or not."

"Wait... back up. A decoy?" Tim shook his head, "For the JOKER? Breaking me in a little quick aren't you?"

"You can turn down the mission if you want to Tim-" Robin was cut off by a beeping sound, "Hold on." he pulled out his T-Comp and read the display. Flipping it open he said, "What's up Raven?"

"We screwed up." she sounded angry, "Slade has all four worthy objects, and he might have the book he needs for the spells to raise the dead."

"Don't sweet it Rae." Robin shook his head, "Slade is power hungry, but he's not crazy. He's smart enough not to raise an army of the dead to destroy Jump City. He wants to _rule_ the world, not wipe out all life."

"Still, we failed."

"And I'm not happy about it, but you'll have to deal with it for a little while longer. I'll have the Joker in a day or two, but for now, just hold down the fort." Robin frowned, "Why _did_ you change to white?"

"It reflects a purer soul, uninhibited by my demonic heritage. With the ability to feel a wider range of emotions, I can get angry without blowing things up, but I can also feel deeper measures of care and compassion." she smiled a warm smile, something he'd never seen before, "I kind of like it."

"Sounds good. Has Jinx stopped playing Girl Wonder?"

"She has her own outfit now. She'll be in Gotham in about an hour by the way. At Arkham, trying to get info out of Gizmo."

"I'll stop by and see her. Thanks for the heads up Raven. Robin out."

"Be careful out there." Raven nodded and signed off.

Robin put away the T-Comp and turned back to Tim, "Now, all we have to do is get on top of the factory." he pulled out one of his grappler lines, and fired it without really looking. It attached securely, and he tested the tension, "Going up?" he arched an eyebrow at Tim and held out a hand.

"Why do I do this kind of stuff?" Tim mumbled as he grabbed the offered hand. Robin hit a button and the cord began to retract, pulling them up from the ground.

Tim shouted once, then just held on for the rest of the ride.

* * *

As Starfire and Babs attempted to find something entertaining to watch on the rooms TV, the sound of a man clearing his throat came from the doorway. Turning they saw the proper and refined form of Alfred standing there.

"Alfie!" Babs squealed as the old butler smiled and stepped into the room. He walked over to her and she immediately threw her arms around his shoulders, "I haven't seen you since that night!"

"I apologize for my late visit, Barbara, but Master Bruce and I have been quite busy, not to mention the added presence of two young people in the manor." he glanced over at Star, who grinned and waved.

"Is it almost four already?" she asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"I fear it is so, Madam. I'm sure you'll have time to come visit Barbara again before your return to Jump City, but for now, Master Richard awaits us back at the manor." he bowed slightly.

"Oh, you're no fun!" Babs poked him, "Come on, you stiff old butler! Stay and chat for a few minutes!"

"I would be delighted to return tomorrow and spend some time with you, Babs, but tonight I fear there is work to be done. Kori and Richard will be busy late into the night, and she must have some rest and a proper supper before tracking down the Clown that did this to you."

Babs's eyes softened and she nodded as Starfire stood up. She reached out and grabbed her friends hand as she passed, "Hey, Kori."

"Yes, Barbara?" Star looked back at her with a light smile.

"Be careful." Starfire smiled wider and nodded her head, "And when you find the Joker? Kick his ass for me."

Star nodded happily, "I would be honored to deliver the kicking of the ass for you."

"Good. Look after Dick too... he tends to get a little ahead of himself."

"We will both be back to see you soon. Do not worry." she leaned forward and kissed Babs on the forehead, "Goodbye for now, friend Babs."

"Later, Kori. Bye Alfie."

The butler bowed again with a smile, and followed Starfire out of the room.

* * *

"Anything?" Robin asked as he took a sip of the soup he'd brought in a thermos.

Tim shook his head from where he was crouched by the slightly raised wall of the top of the factory, looking across the way at the Joker's hideout with a pair of binoculars, "Nada. The guards don't seem to be on a rotation at all. It's just the same guys all the time."

"The gang must not be too big then. That'll work to our advantage." Robin nodded and checked his T-Comp, "I have to take off for a little while. I'll be back in a few hours, if you think you'll be okay by yourself."

"Um... sure. Where are you going?"

"Arkham. I'm meeting a team member there."

"Do you have any way I can contact you if I need to?" Tim looked reluctant.

"Here." Robin handed him a small Titan communicator, "It's a smaller version of mine, and doesn't do as much." he paused and looked Tim in the eye, "But I can give you the full size one if you feel like joining the Titans."

Tim stared at him blankly, "What?"

"I'm serious. With some intense training and a little field work, I think you'd be able to do this job, and Titan's East might be down a member."

"Really?" Tim shook his head, "Um, who?"

"Speedy." Robin shrugged, "I have a feeling he'll be putting in for a transfer to Jump City soon."

"Wow." Tim stared down at the communicator, "I don't know what to say... I mean, I'm honored and all, but... my Dad, and I'm only thirteen-"

"You don't have to answer me right away." Robin smiled at him, "Just think about it while I'm gone and we'll talk more when I get back."

"Okay." Tim nodded, and turned back to his binoculars, "I'll just... do that."

Robin smiled and back away. He'd just let Tim think it over. Jumping off the side of the factory, Robin bounced between the wall and the side of a storage unit next to it until he reached the ground. Walking over to the Jag, he pulled out the keys and disarmed the security system.

As he climbed in, he looked in the rear-view and frowned. He'd need to park a ways away from Arkham and change before he met Jinx there.

* * *

Raven walked back into the medical room a half hour after she called Robin. Checking Red-X's vitals on a monitor, she asked Sarah, "Any thing at all?"

"He's breathing more evenly now, so the damage to his lungs was definitely repaired. He moved a bit earlier... I think he's dreaming." the blond sighed, "He's kind of cute when he's not wearing the mask."

"Yeah." Raven smiled, "He's not actually a bad guy."

"How well do you know him?" Sarah leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs as she watched Raven check over his wounds for additional bleeding.

"I, uh... kind of slept with him last week."

Sarah arched an eyebrow, "Kind of?"

"We had sex on a roof top... it's a long story. Short version is that we had sex, we'll never do it again, and I'm dating Speedy now anyway."

"We figured that when he never left your room last night."

"Way to go Speedy." Red-X mumbled as he tried to sit up, "Quit poking that burn, Rae, it hurts."

"Lay back down, Brian, you're hurt and you need rest." Raven pushed him back down as Sarah stood up and walked over.

"I'm fine, just a little singed. Did you... heal me?" he eyed Raven, "Like you healed Jinx?"

"Yes, now lay down before I use my powers to _restrain_ you." Raven looked at him sternly, "_Now_, Brian."

"Fine, fine." he lay back down and glared up at her, "You know, I wish you had a name I could call you to make it all personal."

Sarah giggled, "You could just call her Rae Rae." Raven groaned and shot Sarah a death glare.

"I like that. Rae Rae." X laughed, then winced, "Ow."

"You took some shrapnel to your lungs." Raven checked the readings on a monitor as she explained, "I removed it and healed you, but you're going to be sore for a few days."

"Why are you doing all of this for me?" he asked, "I thought I told Robin back when we first met; I don't like to play the hero."

"But that doesn't mean you can't." Raven finished for him with a half smile, "I'm willing to bet you want some revenge against Slade, and we're going to need all the help we can get."

Red-X smiled, "Alright, I'm in. What's the move?"

"Rest." Raven ordered, "When I'm sure you're fighting fit, you can put the suit back on."

"I'm already wearing it." he pointed out.

"Well then get up and take it off. I'll get some clothes for you."

"No way an I letting you take this suit from me." he narrowed his eyes.

"Cyborg can get the plans for it from Robin's computers and repair it, but it'll be hard it you're still wearing it." Raven arched an eyebrow, "So if you want it fixed up good as new, strip."

Red-X seemed to consider it for a moment, then grumbled as he sat up and started un-doing clasps, "I had better get it back."

"Oh for crying out loud," Sarah sounded exasperated, "If they take it away from you, it's not like you can't just steal it again!"

X paused and thought about that, "Point." he conceded, and continued to take off the suit.

* * *

Speedy yawned as he walked down the streets of Jump City. People looked at him funny as he moved about, scratching heads and avoiding him as they came towards him.

Not unexpected in Jump. He wasn't a usual member of the Titans out here. In New York people would recognize him better, but out on the California coast, he was pretty much unknown.

"Boring." he said out loud as he finished his sweep of City Section Fifteen. Pulling his T-Comp out, he flipped it open and called Raven.

There was a moment of ring time, then his girlfriend picked up, "What's up, Speedy?"

"Rae, there's nothing going on out here unless you count the first real sunny day Jump has had in a week. It's nice, people are happy, and the trouble from yesterday doesn't seem to be coming back." he sighed, "I even stopped by Rancid's pad again to see if he was up to anything, but he was long gone."

"Sorry it's so boring." Raven sounded sarcastic, "You have anything X can wear? We're going to repair his suit, and he needs clothes in the mean time?"

"Sure. Just dig through my bag. Tell him he owes me more of those eggs though."

"Will do. Hey..."

"Yeah?"

"I love you." she blushed when she said it.

"Love you too, babe. I'll be back to the Tower after I finish my sweep of City Section Sixteen. All's quiet though, so we might be able to go out on that date tonight after all."

Raven smiled, "I'd like that. See you soon then?"

"You got it. Speedy out."

"Raven out." and the T-Comp went dead.

Sighing, Speedy tucked the communicator away. On his way back, he'd have to see what movies were playing.

* * *

Jinx staggered past the gates of Arkham Asylum with a stiff gait. She looked a little green about the gills, and her eyes were dazed.

"Rough transport?" she whirled around to see Robin crouched in the shadows near by.

"Damn Robin... you freaked me out..." she breathed a little easier, "Why the hell is this place so creepy?"

"It's an insane asylum, Jinx, what did you expect?"

"I've BEEN here before, remember? As a client, not a guest. I just wonder why they don't make it nicer."

"No funding." Robin shrugged, "How's the team holding up?"  
"We're fine. Just a little matter of whether Slade has the book or not to clear up."

"I see. By the way, your personal file is worked up and in the system now," he held up his T-Comp and showed her the file he'd been reading, "You're a full Titan."

"Sweet." she grinned, "Oh, hey. We have this new thing on the team... we're using each other's first names when we're in privet. Just sounds friendlier, you know?"

"Sure." Robin shrugged, "Jenny or Jen?"

"Jen's good. Richard or Dick?"

"Raven tell you?"

"Naw, Beast Boy did." she smiled.

"Everyone except Kori and Alfred call me Richard, so Dick will do just fine." he shook his head with a half smile, "Let's get this over with."

"Right." she nodded as they walked up to the front doors.

"Have you ever conducted an interrogation like this before?" he asked as they were passed through the security check point.

"No, but I'll be talking to an old friend, not really grilling him."

"Gizmo isn't exactly stable any more." Robin pointed out, "Are you going to be able to get through to him?" Robin nodded to their guide as the man led them through the halls to the visiting chambers.

Jinx shook her head, "The crazy thing is an act. Giz just likes the food here, and it's easier to get out of than a high security prison."

"You're kidding." Robin shook his head, "That kid really is a genius."

"Which is why I'm hoping he'll help us. This will go a long way towards his good behavior record."

"Agreed. I'll be right outside the doors if you need me. Just call, and I'll be there."

"Okay." Jinx nodded as they came to the room. Shaking the last of the transport willies out of her arms, she pushed through the doors and closed them behind her. Stepping up to the plexiglass window that split the room in two, she took a seat in the lone chair that sat on her side of the divider. She took in the sight of her former partner in crime, feeling again the lightness on her shoulders that came with freedom.

Gizmo, sitting in a chair of his own, was wearing an all white outfit, complete with slippers, and he had a closely trimmed head of hair. He frowned out at her as she sat down across from him.

"Hello, Matt." she said in as warm a voice as she could muster.

"So it's true what they were saying about you," he shook his head, observing her tight top and leather pants with the Titan 'T' on them, "You went Titan on us. You're throwing away your freedom doing this you know."

"I'm not the one on the wrong side of this window." Jinx tapped on the glass and smiled weakly, "You holding up okay in here?"

"The Riddler is good for a game of chess or twenty every day." Gizmo shrugged.

"I have some questions about our HIVE days. You think you can help?"

He frowned, "I guess that'll depend on the question." leveling his most analytical gaze at her, he nodded, "Ask away."

* * *

Tim sipped the soup Robin had left behind for him, and leaned against the raised wall that ran around the edge of the factory roof. After the Boy Wonder had left, he'd sunk into deep contemplation, examining his options and desires.

Could he be a Titan? Would he be any good at the super hero gig? Robin seemed to think so, and he had been doing some pretty heroic stuff lately, but there was always the negatives to consider as well.

He didn't think he could jump in front of gun fire like Robin did, or have half of his acrobatic ability. He could learn to fight, but would he be good enough? How would he explain it to his father? Or would he even tell Jacob Drake about becoming a vigilante?

To further complicate matters, he was already neck deep in the crime fighting world. Would Robin just cut him off completely if he turned down the invitation?

But wasn't that what he wanted? To get out? He'd never wanted to be part of Robin's world, and he'd never asked to join up. So why was he so hesitant to back out now when he had the option?

Confused and slightly cold, Time drank some more soup broth and went back to his recon on the Joker's hideout.

* * *

Speedy stepped into the rec room of the Tower and stretched. Two or three good movies to take his girlfriend to, and maybe diner before. He had some extra cash this month, so he could even pay for it all.

Hearing voices, he walked quietly into the room a bit further and stopped to listen. Beast Boy and Cyborg were talking as they went over files on the computers.

"... just don't see what you see in her, man." Cyborg was saying.

"She's a good person, Cy." Beast Boy shook his head, "I know she used to be like, our worst enemy and stuff, but people change when they grow up, and we're all getting older now. I think she really wants to help."

"I still find it hard to believe that Jinx is all of a sudden one of the good guys. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know? For her to screw up and like, kill someone or something."

Beast Boy turned away from his screen and narrowed his eyes at Cyborg, "You're waiting for her to screw up, or you're _hoping_ she'll screw up?"

Cyborg turned to face his friend as well, "I didn't say that. I'm just not sure we should trust her."

"Raven trusts her, and she can read her thoughts and feelings." Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest, "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"The way Raven's been flipping out lately?" Cyborg shook his head, "Even with her new and improved emotional state, I'm not sure we can fully trust Raven either."

"Dude!" Beast Boy stood up and waved a hand at Cy, "Listen to yourself! You're saying that you can't even trust your own team mates! Who _do_ you trust?"

"Myself. Sarah. Robin to an extent, and since Star's in love with him, I can only trust her as far as I trust him." Beast Boy just gaped at him, "If you're going to let your mind be clouded by your feelings for Jinx, than I don't think I can trust you that much either."

"Cy," Beast Boy took a step forward and grabbed his friend's shoulder, "You can't mean-"

Cyborg gently pushed Beast Boy's hand away, "I do, Gar. Until I see some real proof, I don't think I can trust her, you, or anyone else who just jumped right on the Jinx bandwagon."

Speedy had finally heard enough. Stepping forward loudly, he made sure he had their attention. Both of them looked over at him, and he looked sternly back at them.

"That's enough." he said in a grim tone, "Gar, get back to work. Cyborg, can I talk to you?" he motioned for Cy to follow him and they walked over to the elevator. Stepping in, Speedy hit the button for the residence level.

"What is it, Jason?" Cyborg sighed.

"You know I consider you to be a good friend, and I respect you, Victor," Speedy turned to face the robotic Titan, "hell, I was ready to follow you when you formed Titan's East. But this lack of trust in your own team..." he shook his head, "We can't have that kind of weak link, Cy."

"Like I said," Cy crossed his arms, "I need real, hard proof that Jinx has changed, and that Raven is okay now before I can trust them fully."

"And like I said," Speedy looked away from him, "We can't have that kind of weak link." he shook his head as the doors opened, "You can ask Raven to over rule my order, Cy, but for now, you're not coming out on missions with us." Cyborg's mouth fell open and he stammered a little before Speedy stepped out of the elevator and sighed. Looking back over his shoulder at his friend through the closing doors, he said, "I'm sorry."

* * *

Jinx cleared her throat and looked as non-threatening as she could, "Do you know anything about the artifacts that the school kept around? I need to know what happened to one of them when Brother Blood took over."

Gizmo leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. She knew it was just a gesture, since he never had been able to grow any kind of beard, but she found it to be one of his more endearing habits. It just looked cute to see a guy with such a baby face try to look more manly.

"I hacked the system to find lots of things." he finally said, "Can you give me a name to jog my memory a bit?"

Jinx had been hoping to just ask about the arcane texts, not the book by name, but it looked like Gizmo wasn't going to let her play that way, "The Libris Mortis."

"Ah, the zombie book. Who's trying to raise an army of dead guys?" he leaned forward and rubbed his hands together.

"You look like a teenage girl waiting for the latest gossip, Matt." she snorted and laughed a little. He scowled at her.

"Shut up. At least I don't look like Little Miss Righteous Crusader."

"I'm not doing this to be a crusader, Giz, I'm doing it to... make up for all the wrong I did... for all the pain we caused."

Gizmo looked away, "Yeah, I figured." shaking his head, he continued, "You never killed anyone though."

"No," she shook her head and closed her eyes as well, "I didn't."

"I did, Jenny." he looked back up at her, and she opened her eyes to meet his, "Blood doesn't just wash off your hands. It stays, and stains them forever."

"Then you'll just have to learn to live like I did," she smiled weakly, "with dirty hands."

"I don't know if I can..." closing his eyes, he sat back and sighed. Jinx frowned, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"You can't give up so easily, Matt, you can't just-"

"Brother Blood sold the Libris Mortis to a Metahuman collector." he interrupted her, "I don't know the guys name, but if he knew Blood, then he was really, really bad."

Jinx stared at him for a moment longer, then he shoulders sagged, "Thanks, Matt. I'll put in a good word for you with the Doctor. Maybe we'll have you out of here before you can drink."

"Yeah. Maybe." Gizmo looked away, down at the floor.

Jinx stood up, "Bye." she mumbled and started for the door. Just as she was about to pull it open, he spoke again,

"Hey, Jinx."

"Yeah?" she looked over her shoulder at him. He was staring at her, his eyes rimmed in red.

"Be careful out there."

"I will." she nodded once, then turned and walked through the door.

* * *

On the other side, Robin was leaning against the wall. When he saw her coming, her head down, he stood up straight and walked over, "How'd it go?"

Jinx looked up at him and he saw the tear tracks on her face, "Hm? Oh, Brother Blood sold the book to some Metahuman guy... Giz said he was really bad, and... um... that... that..."

Robin took a few more steps forward and wrapped his arms around her. She finally broke down and buried her face in his chest, sobbing.

"He looked... so broken..." she said, "He's... giving up hope of ever being getting out... of ever living a normal life..."

"He's done some pretty bad things, Jen." Robin left one arm around her shoulder, half covering her with his cape as he led her back through the halls of Arkham, "Not everyone has your strength of character or conviction."

"I still feel like shit." she shook her head and leaned into his shoulder.

"Maybe you can help him." he suggested, "Come see him more. The Titans can foot the bill for your transport if you think you can redeem him."

"I'll think about it later... after we stop Slade."

"Yeah," Robin looked up at the sky as they left the asylum, "and after I put the Joker back in here."

"Good luck with that." she sniffed as she pulled away from him, "Now go find Starfire and finish up. We need you back in Jump, Dick."

"I'll see you there." he smiled at her as he stepped back into the same shadows she's first seen him in when she had arrived, "I promise."

* * *

Raven sighed and rubbed her eyes, "You suspended him from the Titans?" she asked her boyfriend as they sat in her room.

"Yeah." Speedy pulled off his mask and tossed it on top of the rest of his uniform where it was piled on the floor of her room. Walking over to his bag, he pulled out a button down shirt and a pair of dark jeans, "He was being unreasonable, and if he's not going to trust any of us, then we can't have him fighting with us. He'd just be a danger to himself and us if he was constantly looking around to see if we were going to stab him in the back or not."

"I understand your reasoning, Jason, but not your method." Raven had already changed into black jeans, combat boots and a mid-drift exposing black tank top.

"What's not to understand?" he asked.

"Cy is a good combatant." Raven said, as she watched him dress, "He'll pay attention to what he's fighting before he pays attention to the rest of us. What he needs is to fight with the team until he understands that we're _not _going to stab him in the back."

"I don't know... maybe we should have Sarah talk to him?"

"I'm sure she already is." Raven shook her head, "Let's just... get out of the Tower. I'm ready to be a normal girl for a few hours."

"Sounds good." Speedy held out a hand as he stood up from where he was finishing tying his shoes, "Ready for _Fist of Fury Part Three_?" he asked with a grin.

"Do we _have_ to go see a kung-fu flick?" she rolled her eyes, "I'd think you'd have had your fill of martial arts, what with getting your butt kicked by Slade earlier and everything..."

"Hey, he took me by surprise-"

"Which is no excuse." Raven giggled as he sighed in exasperation.

As they walked through her door, he said, "You're impossible, Rae."

* * *

"Cy, calm down!" Sarah demanded as she pulled on her boyfriends arm, trying to keep him from throwing more of his things into boxes, "Jason just suspended you until you get your head on straight, he didn't kick you off the team!"

"Oh, so now you're on his side?" Cyborg jerked his arm away from her and turned to face her, "You think I'm being unreasonable now too?"

"Cy, Raven can SENSE when people are lying, and what they're feeling, and she's made her peace with her evil heritage! She's better, and she says Jinx is okay! Why can't you trust that?"

"Maybe everyone else can just believe her when she says she's better, but I'm not going to until I see her calm down! I check the police reports, Sarah! She ripped some dudes arm off the other day, then yesterday she hacked off two of Fangs legs! The girl is turning into a monster!"

Sarah suddenly looked furious and she took three steps up to him, reached out and slapped him across the face. He looked shocked and hurt as she yelled at him, "You listen to me! I love you Victor, but you have to seriously think about what you're saying! You're saying you can't trust any of your team mates, because they want to give someone the benefit of the doubt and believe that maybe, just maybe, Jinx actually wants to make up for her past life? That is so, typical of you!"

"What?" he shouted back, "You think I do this all the time?"

"YES!" she screamed back at him, "When you're right, you have to be right! When you think someone isn't trustworthy, regardless of all of your friends and loved ones thinking they are, that person definitely isn't trustworthy!" she threw her hands up in the air and stalked away from him, "You have to learn to be wrong sometimes, Victor. You're not perfect."

"I never said I was! I never even said I thought we should kick Raven or Jinx out! All I said is that I need stronger proof of them being better now!"

Sarah whirled back around to face him, "That's because you have no _faith_, Cy! I know your childhood wasn't easy, and I know you still hurt from what your father did to you, and I know that's _why _you don't trust easily, but you have got to let this go!"

"I can't. Not after the way Speedy acted. I can't trust them until they start trusting me." he shook his head.

"Well, you're not really giving them too many reasons to trust you. Keep it up, Cy, and you'll be off the team when Robin gets back."

"I don't need this." he shook his head, "You're not involved Sarah."

"I am now." she leveled a glare at him, "I got involved when I started dating you, and those robots trashed my apartment. They came after _me_, to get to _you_, Cy. Don't assume I wasn't able to figure that one out."

He looked pained, "I didn't think you wouldn't, Sarah-"

"I'm going to go see Tina in the hospital." Sarah said as she stepped over to the door, "Then I'm going to stop by my apartment and get some stuff before I come back here." she turned to look at him with a gentle smile, "I'm going to help you through this, Cy, but I need to get away from you for a while. I'll see you soon."

All he could do was stare after her as she left.

* * *

"Anything?" Tim almost jumped off the rooftop as Robin's voice came from behind him.

"Christ, Dick, don't do that!" he gasped out as he settled down again, "The thugs all went back in to rest about an hour ago, and now they're back out here again. Whatever the Joker is doing in there, he doesn't want to be interrupted."

"They have to sleep some time." Robin shook his head as he took the binoculars from Tim and scanned the area, "I think I have the disguise you'll be using."

"What is it?" Tim asked as he stood up and stretched.

"A lost little boy. The Joker loves to play with kids."

"Gee, thanks." they fell into silence for a moment, then Tim spoke up, "Could you uh... give me a few days to think about your offer?"

"Sure. It's not something we have to worry about right away. We should see how you do at this mission first anyway. If you do really well, then I'll push harder. If you bomb... well, we'll probably both be dead then any way."

"Great." Tim mumbled, "Glad to hear you're so confident."

"We just wont fail then." Robin shrugged, "I'll have Star with me, and I promise, so long as you're with one of us, nothing will hurt you."

"Alright." Tim nodded, "What now?"

"I think we can make our move tonight. I'll take you home, and I want you to get some sleep. I'll pick you up at about midnight."

Tim nodded and Robin tucked the binoculars away, "Let's go then." he said and pulled out his grappler again.

Drake eyed it, swallowed hard, but followed Robin to the edge of the roof any way.

* * *

Starfire sat in the dining room of Wayne manor eating Alfred's best meatloaf.

Alone.

"You are sure Richard is on his way home?" she called to Alfred, who was through the open door in the kitchen.

"Quite sure, Madam Kori. He called not twenty minutes ago to let us know that he has concluded his surveillance and will be back as quickly as possible to prepare for tonight's capture of the Joker." Alfred stepped to the doorway, "Do not worry about him so. He is rather like Master Bruce in that he tends to get ahead of everyone else when left to his own devices."

Bruce chose that moment to walk into the room, and sent a look at his butler, "Let's not discuss that tonight, Alfred."

"Ah yes." Alfred rolled his eyes, "Your little tiff with Master Richard. I assume he is still angry with you then?"

"With good reason." Bruce sighed as he sat down at the table. He rubbed his eyes as Alfred set a place for him, and then seemed to slump down into the chair, "He says a girl died because I didn't give him the information he needed. That I shouldn't have left him on his own."

Starfire looked over at Bruce with a hint of trepidation. She didn't want to anger her host, but she also didn't want to remain silent, "Terra was a good person inside... Slade simply drew out her worst traits and magnified them. She thought he was giving her what she had always wanted... control of her powers, and control of her life."

"Both things she could have learned by staying with the Titans." Bruce shook his head as he ignored the meatloaf, "I should have sent the file. I should have acted like his mentor... like his friend."

"But you did not." Starfire knew she was walking on thin ice here, "I am sure he would forgive you if you were to just apologize-"

"Some things don't deserve forgiveness, Kori." Bruce stood up again, "I'm not hungry, Alfred. I'm going out early tonight."

"I will pack some food for you to take with you then." the butler walked back into the kitchen and called over his shoulder, "You will be hungry later."

"Thank you, old friend." Bruce sighed again as he left the room the same way he'd come in.

Starfire took another bite of her meatloaf, only because she didn't want to disappoint Alfred by pushing it away.

She wasn't very hungry anymore either.

* * *

Raven was laughing when she and Speedy walked out of the movie theater, "That was... the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

Speedy smiled at her, "It wasn't supposed to be funny, Rae. It was an action flick." he shook his head and put an arm around her shoulders, "It was supposed to be a serious depiction of the kung-fu legends of Japan."

"But the magic..." she gasped for breath in the middle of her laughing, "it was all so... unrealistically depicted. Shung-tsu mysticism uses candles and wax coated paper scrolls, not brass figurines! And the Korigatio shadow techniques were all magical in the movies, when really..." she laughed again, "really, they're all just smoke and mirrors!"

"Raven, you have to learn to separate fact and fiction." Speedy squeezed her and laughed, "Just because you _know_ that the magic wasn't done right, doesn't mean you can't appreciate the special effects someone spent months making."

"I guess movies like that just crack me up." Raven finally calmed down, "How about we go get some real Chinese food now, and call it even." she kissed his jaw, "Kay?"

"I just happen to know the perfect place. And we don't even have to walk all the way to China Town." Speedy turned at Seper Street and they started down the sidewalk, moving with the rest of the perdestrian flow.

"You must mean the Amagasiaki Family Eatery." Raven smiled and rubbed her stomach, "Mmm... good idea. But they're Japanese cooking."

"They have the worlds best Oden though." Speedy licked his lips, "I can taste the squid already!"

"I think we might be the only two people in the city that actually enjoy eating seaweed and squid." Raven shook her head.

"But we're so damn sexy together that who's gonna' complain?" Speedy arched an eyebrow at her.

Raven arched one right back, "Come on, my sexy archer, and we'll get some good food." Grinning he let her pull him through the door, into the eatery.

* * *

Beast Boy turned away from the computer screen and rubbed his eyes. He'd been at it all day, but he was finally done. Sarah had left just an hour ago, and Raven and Speedy had gone out just an hour before that, leaving him alone in the tower with a grumpy Cyborg who refused to talk to him, and Red-X, where ever he'd gone off to.

Getting up and walking into the kitchen, Beast Boy opened the fridge and searched around until he came up with some V-8. Opening the bottle, he poured himself a glass of it, then walked back to the rec-room to compile his notes into one file so Raven could review it when she got back.

Stopping at the couch, he was surprised to see Jinx sprawled across it, looking slightly green. She had her arm thrown over her eyes to block out the light from the sunset.

"When'd you get here?" he asked.

"Just got zapped in..." she shook her head, her eyes still covered, "I am never traveling that way again."

"Molecular transport isn't always fun." he shook his head with a laugh and shrugged, "I'm use to being reshaped all the time, so it's never a problem for me, but I know Cyborg hates it, and Robin has never really gotten used to it."

"How have things been around here?" she asked as she sat up and patted the spot on the couch next to her.

"Not so good." he sat down and she leaned her head on his shoulder, "Cy seems to think that we shouldn't trust you right away, and since most of us have, that he can't trust us either." Jinx sat back up and stared. Beast Boy looked over at her, "Yeah, I know. Speedy... suspended him from combat until he shapes up."

"Well, he has a point though. I mean, I'm still not sure about how well I'm doing at this job, and what if I screw up and kill someone or something? I mean... it could happen."

"It could happen to any of us." Beast Boy shook his head, "If I were to misjudge the distance of a claw swipe, I could rip out someone's throat. Cy could crush someone's skull if he didn't watch what he was doing. Speedy _does_ miss sometimes, and that could easily kill someone. Raven's been known to go berserk every now and then, and even Robin gets out of control sometimes..." he looked up at her with a serious look, "None of us are perfect."

"But... I have such a bad history... I can understand what he's talking about... maybe I should go find him and-"

"Don't bother. He's being mister anti-social. Wont even let me in to his room."

Jinx sighed again and leaned back into him, "He'll get over it. We're the Titans," she smiled, "nothing can keep us down for long."

* * *

Cyborg sat on the roof of the Tower, staring off at the ocean. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear to footsteps of a visitor.

"Hey, big guy." the blond haired Red-X sat down next to him on the rooftop, "What'cha thinking about?"

"Nothin." Cy looked away, "You have a name?"

"Brian." Red-X replied, "You?"

"Victor."

"Strong name." X nodded, "I heard you fighting with your girl."

"Just a minor thing."

"A minor thing that's keeping you from repairing my suit." Red-X pointed out, "If you guys want me to help you fight Slade, I'm going to need it functioning at full capacity."

"I'll get to it later."

"What if Slade attacks tonight?"

"Then you're S.O.L., aren't you?"

"Guess so." Red-X stood up and started back towards the roof hatch, "You know, Victor, I guess what I came up here to say was that if you're not going to trust Jinx, maybe you should think twice about trusting yourself."

"What?" Cyborg turned around and grabbed Red-X's sleeve before he could get too far away, "What'd you just say?" he was starting to sound angry.

"I'm just saying," he didn't even look back down at Cy, "that anyone can screw up and take a life. I did a few days ago. You could if you don't watch your temper." he shook his head, "Jinx never killed anyone the whole time she was with the HIVE. Not because she couldn't. Not because she was ordered not to." now he did look back at Cy, "Because she didn't _want_ to."

Cyborg let go of him, and he walked the rest of the way to the roof hatch. Before he walked down the steps, he spoke one last time, "Just something to fill your head, since thinking about nothing is kind of unproductive."

Cyborg sat for another long time before he got up to go back down to his room. He had a suit to repair for a friend.

* * *

"We have _got_ to sneak a bottle of sake into the Tower." Raven said as she and Speedy walked away from the eatery, "I'm glad that place doesn't ID."

"I'm glad you didn't get loaded!" Speedy hugged her, "Good thing I'm driving..."

"I only had two drinks, Jason." Raven rolled her eyes, "It's good stuff!"

"I'll take your word for it." Speedy shook his head and checked his watch, "It's almost nine. We should head back to the Tower and see if Gar is done with that file yet."

"Yeah..." Raven sighed and circled around in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I had fun tonight."

"Good. You needed the break."

"And you're getting laid again later." he smiled at that as she leaned up into him and they kissed. They held each other like that for almost a minute, deepening the kiss and starting to explore each other's bodies with their hands when the street was rocked by an explosion.

They were both thrown off their feet and into a wall by the force and by the time they were able to get back up and look around, people were running past and screaming. The explosion had been caused by a bus that had just burst into flames.

Over the din, they still heard the laugh. As one, their heads whipped around and saw Slade standing on top of a building a little ways up the street. He held in one hand a staff, made of bone, with a headpiece made of a cup, a ring, and a coin. In the other, he held an open, black bound book.

"No..." Raven breathed.

"Yes." Slade replied, _"He who holds the power of these four worthy objects, and who knows the dark words of power, will hold dominion over life and death, and rule the world of mortals with absolute authority."_

"Shit!" Speedy shouted, "Raven, look!" he pointed into the street below Slade, and there she saw what she had hoped to never have to see.

The corpses in the street were starting to stand up. As they did, a horrible howling filled the air.

"The Cursed Dead." she said grimly, "We have to get back to the Tower." Slade pointed his staff at another group of bodies, and those too started to rise, "Now."

Speedy grabbed hold of her, and together they vanished in a swirl of raven-shaped darkness.

* * *

Closing notes: What a ride! Look for tons more action in the next chapters! We're in the home stretch here folks, so hold on! It's about to get bumpy!

* * *

Bonus Question #1: Comic question! Why did Dick and Bruce _really_ start fighting in the comics? What drove them apart for so long?

Bonus Question #2: The Hard One. If you scroll up a little ways, you'll see that Starfire tells Babs that she sounds like Raven. What's the hidden meaning in that comment?

* * *

Next Chapter: How do you kill what's already dead? How do you fight that which doesn't want to win? It's Hell on Earth as the Titans try to defeat Slade once and for all, and Robin tries to bring down the world's most insane villain ever!

As madness descends on Gotham, Jump City burns. Death, destruction, and fire sweep the streets of the Titan's beloved home. As the battle wares on, their bonds ware thin. Can Raven hold her team together? Can Robin keep Starfire and Tim alive, not to mention himself? Next time: Judgment Day.


	10. Chapter 10: Judgment Day

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans FanFiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: Took a bit longer than the last one, and it's a thousand or so words shorter too. Hmmm. Well, I did write another story in there too, so that could explain it. Check out Falling Up when you're done with this one.

I have some stats here for those of you who care. Jump City Cantata is 98,870 words long. Single spaced, at 12 point Times New Roman font, that's 196 pages. Ten chapters strong now, and looking at one more to finish the story, and an epilog after that, it'll easily top 250 pages. It's a freakin' book, man. On top of that, there's still one or two more stories to finish the series after this one is done. Damn.

Bonus Question Winner: Kokuryu! A big round of applause for the winner please! Give me a shout over the e-mail Kokuryu, and we can work out the details of your prize! Drumroll please... a cameo apperence! Woo! Just what you've always wanted, I know. :)

* * *

Chapter 10: Judgment Day

* * *

Robin looked over the blue prints for the abandon factory one last time. His eyes darted about, memorizing electrical conduits, sewer connections, layout of walls, and structural support beams. Knowing every detail about the place one was about to attack never hurt anything.

A short ways away, Starfire was strapping an aiming device to her head. It held a single eye piece that would allow her to see in the dark, and to pin-point targets more readily. Accuracy and swiftness would be vital to Robin's plan, and in order to achieve both, she would need the extra help.

"I still do not feel comfortable taking Timothy along with us." she spoke into the silence of the Batcave.

"Noted." Robin replied in a tense voice.

"Do you not value my opinion on this matter at all?" she asked in an angry tone as she flew over and landed next to him. Reaching out, she turned his chin so that he was looking at her and not a computer screen, "Are you listening to me, Richard?"

His shoulders sagged and he took a step closer to her. Resting his head on her shoulder, he sighed out a ragged breath and hugged her, "I'm questioning my own judgment every second Kori, but he was willing. Eager even. I think he can do it."

"Then I will trust you." she pulled away from him, "I must leave now, and get into position. I will see you when you arrive with Timothy."

"Yeah. Radio me if anything weird goes down."

"Of course. See you soon."

"Bye." Robin waved to her as she flew to the exit down through the tunnel the Batmobile used.

Sighing once more, Robin started to walk to the motor pool to retrieve the bike when a foot step sounded behind him. He paused and turned his head to the side, not really looking over his shoulder, but not really ignoring the presence of his mentor.

"Did you need something, Bruce?"

"Just to say good luck." the deep, resonating tone of Batman carried to his ears from the shadows of the cave.

"You always taught me that luck had nothing to do with our mission."

"And I'm glad you remember that. I don't hate you Dick."

"I know, Bruce." Robin started forward again, "I know."

"Be careful out there, Robin. I'll be about if you need any help."

"I'll..." Robin cut off his angry retort. So many things about tonight's mission could go wrong, and all not only he himself, but Starfire and Tim could end up dead as well. There was no reason to leave things like they were between Bruce and himself, "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Bruce."

There was no response, but Robin knew that Batman had nodded. He continued on his way to the motor pool, feeling a little bit better about the mission.

* * *

"Um, Victor?" Cyborg looked up from where he was repairing Red-X's suit in his room and listened through his door to his pink haired team mate's voice, "Hey, you in there, Cy?" 

"The door's open, Jen." he called.

The door slid open and she stepped in cautiously. She still wore her uniform, the Titan 'T' standing out in the half light of his room against her right thigh like a beacon.

"Hey."

"What's up?" he asked as he went back to work.

"I, uh... talked to BB earlier... and he told me about your conversation."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Look, Vic, I know you don't like me that much, but I really-"

"Whoa, hold on." Cyborg stepped around his work table and walked over to her. Kneeling down in front of her so they were closer to eye level, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, "I never said I didn't like you. Hell, I think you're a riot to be around. I just said I don't know if we can fully trust you not to... fall back."

"Oh." Jinx looked away, "I talked to Gizmo for a while. He's... giving up hope of ever getting out of that place."

"Is it hard to see your friends locked up like that?"

She threw him an angry look, "Of course it is! Matt's a decent person inside, but he's always been so small that he thinks he has to act big to make up for it. He has some serious issues to work out." she shook her head, "We all do."

"You hate the prospect of taking a life, don't you?" Cyborg asked as he stood up.

Jinx shuddered, "The first time I ever saw it... when Mammoth crushed a guard's head between his hands..." tears started dripping down her face, "He _laughed_ Victor! He laughed and I... I ran away. Giz wouldn't leave me alone about it for a week, and Mammoth called me a weak little girl for months afterwards... but I was _so scared._"

"Of what?" Cy took a step back and looked down at the crying girl before him, not quite sure what to do.

"Of becoming like that. Of getting to the point where I would laugh when I killed someone. Where it wouldn't seem so... inhuman." she wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from him, "You wouldn't understand... you've never been there."

"I... guess I'll just have to trust you on that one then." Cyborg stepped forward, "Look, Jinx... I don't have a choice here. I'm going to go out there and fight no matter what Speedy or Raven say, but if it will help the team, then I'll trust you. I'll trust you to watch my back, just like I'll trust you to watch my friend's backs."

Jinx whirled back around and threw her arms around his neck. He was stunned for a second, then hugged her back, "It's okay, Jen... I'm just saying that-"

"Shut up." she ordered, "I just want you to know how much it means to me to be trusted." stepping back, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

The doors opened and Sarah stepped into the room, toting a gym bag. She stood there for a moment, staring at Jinx and Cyborg.

Jinx, her lips still pressed to Cy's cheek, and Cyborg, still bent down to receive the kiss, stared back.

Sarah cracked up then, and the tension broke. "Oh... man... I come back here expecting to have to beat some sense into Cy for not trusting you, and now I have to beat the crap out of you for putting the moves on my man while I'm gone!" laughing even harder, the blond walked over and hugged Jinx, who had by then pulled her lips away from Cyborg.

Jinx hugged her back and smiled weakly, "It wasn't really-"

"Oh I know. Go make out with your own boyfriend though, I need to make mine all hot and sweaty."

"Oh, God." Jinx backed out of the room, "You two just have some fun then, and _omph!_" she was almost knocked down as Speedy pelted past her on his way to Raven's room.

Raven came running up behind him a second later and steadied Jinx, "Titans, trouble." she said.

"What kind of trouble?" Cyborg asked as he walked back to his work bench.

"Slade trouble. Armies of the dead trouble." Raven looked grim, "Assemble down in the rec-room in five. Cy, you're fighting with us."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." he walked over to a wall panel in his room as Jinx dashed off to find Beast Boy and spoke into a speaker there, "Red-X! Mr. Red-X! Please report to Cyborg's room, your suit is completed."

* * *

"This is it." Raven paced back and forth in front of her assembled team, "This is the battle I've feared from the beginning of this whole thing." 

"How bad is it, Rae? Be up front with us." Jinx looked grim, "I know a little, but you look pretty freaked out."

"The zombies created by the spell from the Libris Mortis are called the Cursed Dead. They aren't your classic movie fare zombies... they're fast, agile, strong, and they crave human flesh." she stopped and stared at them from the depths of her hood in a spooky manner, "They will try everything they can to kill and eat you."

"Glad I'm only _half_ human." Cyborg said with a grin.

"This isn't a joking matter, Cy." Raven lifted off the ground and started floating back and forth in front of them.

"Dude, Rae... are you nervous?" Beast Boy arched an eyebrow.

"Yes." Raven landed and looked at them again, "Look, team. These things are going to look like normal people, move like normal people, and sound like normal people when you hit them. But they're _not_. They're dead, and the only way to stop one of the Cursed Dead is to..." she trailed off and looked away.

"Is to what, Rae?" Speedy stepped forward and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Is to rip them apart." Raven replied grimly, "You have to make them loose as much blood as possible, all at once. Otherwise, they just keep coming."

"Christ..." Sarah covered her mouth, "How... how will you be able to do that?"

"Speedy," Raven turned to her boyfriend, "Explosives. Aim for critical spots. I can get you a melee weapon as well. Beast Boy-"

"Gar." he corrected.

Raven sighed, "I'm stressed and I'm not going to remember, so just for today, you're Beast Boy again, okay?"

"Fine." Beast Boy looked huffy.

"You have it pretty easy." Raven continued, "Whatever form you take, make sure you can dismember someone with it."

"Right." he swallowed hard and nodded.

"Cyborg..." Raven knew it would be hardest for him, "Rip them apart."

"With my hands?"

"Or your sonic cannon, if you can set it high enough to disrupt human flesh."

"I don't know if I can-"

"Then get over it." Raven cut him off. She turned to Jinx, "Forget everything I told you about not hitting to kill. I'll get you a weapon as well, but don't be afraid to use your powers to help you crush any of these monsters you can."

"Right." Jinx nodded as well.

"What about you?" Cyborg asked, "Are you up for this?"

"I can tear them apart with my powers." Raven looked away, "I've already proven that."

"But can you _do_ it?" Cy stepped forward and turned her to face him.

She looked up into his human eye with dead, cold ones, "Yes." she replied. It was cold, dark, and deadly behind her violet eyes, and Cyborg took an involuntary step back.

"Speedy, Jinx, with me. Beast Boy, check the City Status to find the worst areas and see if you can track down Slade. Cyborg," Raven turned from where she had been walking across the room, "Go down to the evidence lock up and get Sarah a weapon. If they get to the Tower and past the security system, I want her prepared."

"What about me?" Red-X asked as he stepped into the room, once again in his suit.

"I think of you as an independent contractor in this situation." Raven smiled at him, "Take out zombies, don't steal anything along the way, and try to stay alive."

"Got it." he nodded and walked over to where Beast Boy was checking the computers.

As Raven, Speedy and Jinx left the room, Cyborg took a nervous looking Sarah by the hand and led her to the stairs that went down to the basement, "Come on, Baby."

* * *

Robin only had to wait for two minutes before Tim snuck down the fire escape and on to the back of the bike. 

"Let's go." the younger teen said as he stuffed a helmet on his head and gripped Robin about the waist.

"You're sure you still want to do this?" the Boy Wonder asked as he rolled silently out of the ally next to Tim's building and down the street. Once he was far enough away from the area, he opened up the throttle and took off at a higher speed.

"Yeah. I thought about it... and I'd like to accept your offer... if tonight goes well."

"It will." Robin replied, "And I'll be happy to-" a beeping cut him off. He frowned and looked down at the control panel of the bike. Hitting a button, he saw Raven's face pop up, "What is it, Rae?"

"Slade did it. Jump City is under attack by armies of the dead."

"Can you stop it?"

"It'll be bloody... but we'll stop it."

"I'm counting on you, Raven. I'll finish up here in a few hours, then I'll hop a ride in the Batjet to get home and help. Hold down the fort until Star and I get there."

"We'll do our best." Raven nodded and signed off.

"Armies of the dead?" Tim asked.

"Oh, yeah." Robin grinned as he took a hard right, "You get all sorts in this business... psychotic clowns, cold blooded assassins, armies of the dead..."

"Is it too late to re-think that offer of yours?"

Robin laughed, "Yes."

* * *

"Pick one." Raven said as she opened a standing cabinet on the far side of her room, across from her book shelf. 

Jinx and Speedy gaped at the collection of weapons. After a moment of hesitation, Jinx went right for the katana, and Speedy lifted out a wicked looking battle axe.

"Why do you have all of these?" Speedy asked as he grabbed for a belt loop to strap to his uniform.

"I collect actual artifacts. None of these have enchantments, but they all have history." Raven pointed to Jinx as she was strapping the sword across her back, "That katana was used in the Meiji revolution by an official samurai of the Shogunate." pointing back over at Speedy, she motioned at the axe, "That axe was used by the Viking warrior Marvlen Redbeard on twenty separate raids, over twelve years, on the Saxons of early Britain."

"Wow." Jinx drew the sword and looked at it, "So it's seen blood before."

"Yes." Raven pulled out a matched set of Spanish daggers and strapped them to her waist, to be drawn from the back, behind her cloak, "Let's go."

* * *

Sarah looked on as her boyfriend searched through the tall shelves of the evidence lock up, "Cy... you don't really think-" 

"I don't know." Cyborg shook his head as he pulled down several crates from the shelves in the basement of the Tower, "But Raven is right; I'd rather have you prepared than not."

"But... what can I do to defend the Tow... oh." she looked scared as he pulled a beam rifle out of one of the boxes.

"We got this off of Dr. Light once. It can cut through solid steel in a matter of seconds, so it should be able to carve up zombies pretty well. The Tower's power grid should be able to keep it running for a good long time, and it's got it's own internal power that'll last you about five minutes-"

"Cy, I don't think I can-"

"Shut UP Sarah!" Cy looked up at her, and she saw that he was just as frightened as she was, "You think I WANT to give this thing to you?" he sighed and his shoulders slumped, "It's a 'just in case thing,' Babe. The Tower's defensive systems should be able to keep them out, or blow them apart if they get in, but you should still know how to use this, and how long you'll be able to use it before you have to use knives and conventional small arms fire." he reached into another crate and pulled out a rather large looking hand gun, "Robin hates that we have to keep these around, but it's for evidence."

"Cy, I don't know how to fire a gun."

"Point it, and pull the trigger. This one has a bit of kick to it, but it's easy to re-load. I'll show you how to use all of this stuff when we get you set up. The most defensible point in the Tower is the medical level. I'll put you right in the lab so you'll have some room to move around."

"I can't believe we've come to this." she shook her head and hugged him.

"I'm just happy you're here and not out there in your apartment."

"There are other people out there that need your help, Cy." Sarah stepped back, wiped the tears from her eyes, and stood up straight, "Let's get me set up so you can go do your job."

"God bless you for being so strong..." Cy picked up the crates, "Let's go."

* * *

Starfire looked through the range enhancing night vision scope attached to the eye piece she wore, searching for signs of movement at the arranged spot. When she saw it, her heart started to pound in her chest. 

From her vantage on top of the water tower next to the Joker's hide out, she could see Robin and Tim pull up to the abandoned factory across the street. They wasted no time in hiding the bike and getting Tim ready.

Robin supplied him with ratty looking clothes and scuffed up shoes. Tim then did his best impression of what a slight limp would look like. He needed to look weak, but sneaky, in order to make his break in worth the Joker's time to 'play' with him.

As she watched, Robin turned and looked right at her. Bringing his hand up to his ear where she knew he had a hands free communicator, he spoke, and she heard him through her own earpiece, "You ready, Star?"

"Yes, Robin."

"Jump City is being attacked by Slade and a bunch of zombies, Star. The Titans are handling it, but I'd like to get this done quickly and head over there as soon as we can."

Star blinked, "Zombies?"

"Not important right now. Let's just do this fast and clean."

"Very well. Let us kick the ass."

"Just like we planed it then." Robin said with a chuckle, "Tim goes in and draws the Joker out. When I burst on the scene, Tim, you run like hell. If anyone follows you, you have the tangler grenades, caltrops, and smoke bombs. Hopefully all of the thugs will be right there, and I wont have a problem taking them out, but any stragglers are your job Star. Take anyone converging on me out before they get there. Then and only then are you to come help me." he sounded stern, "Any questions?"

"When do I call the cops in?" Tim asked as he adjusted his hiding pouches for his non-lethal weapons.

"As soon as you get to a safe point." Robin replied, "If we're set, then let's do this."

* * *

Jinx walked into the kitchen to find Speedy digging through the refrigerator. As he stepped back with leftovers from the night before and started tossing them on a plate to be reheated, she arched an eyebrow. 

"Hungry?"

"Nervous." he smiled weakly as he set the timer on the microwave, "I eat when I'm nervous."

"Why so freaked out?"

"I've never had to... aim to kill before."

"I hear that. I mean, at least I have the proper training to kill someone, so I guess I'm one up on you."

"I don't mean it like that." he shook his head, "I could put a normal arrow in someone's throat any day of the week. I have pretty good aim after all." he shrugged, "It's what I do. I've just never... really thought about doing it." he shuddered, "Now I'm going to have to go out there and literally blow people apart."

"Or chop them up." Jinx fingered the hilt of her katana, "I don't know if I'm up for this. I've never wanted to kill anyone, even _if_ I know how. I don't know... how I'll handle all the blood."

"We'll do it because we have to." Speedy nodded as the timer went off on the microwave, "You want any ham?" he asked as he removed the plate.

"Hell yes." Jinx pulled out a fork and they sat down together at the table.

* * *

"Hey." Raven poked Beast Boy in the shoulder, "How's it going?" 

"Not bad." Beast Boy pointed to a monitor, "Slade isn't hiding, and he's not moving. We can't wait any longer though. The first casualty reports are coming in now, and we're looking at a few hundred people. Rae, this is getting out of control."

"We're going to make a line drive for Slade." Raven replied, reaching over his shoulder and tapping a few keys on the keyboard. A new screen came up with a map of the city, "This way." she traced a path with her finger, showing him the path through the streets she wanted to take.

"We'll be encountering heavy resistance in a few places along that rout." Beast Boy hit a few more keys and an overlay of zombie activity popped up, "See here? They're congregating for something."

"Cy and Speedy can watch our backs when we get past that mess then. The rest of us will be able to get to Slade."

"You really think we can do this?"

"We don't have a choice." Raven shook her head, "We can't wait for Robin, and the JLA wont be able to respond for another half hour. People are dying out there, and we have to stop it."

Beast Boy looked down at her hand, still hovering near the keyboard, and saw that it was shaking. He reached out and grabbed it, "You're scared."

"Yes." Raven swallowed hard, "Another new emotion I could really do without."

"You've always had fear before, Rae." he swiveled his chair around so that he was facing her, "You've just always repressed it."

"I can do it again..." she closed her eyes, "I just need to concentrate harder."

"Hey..." he grabbed her about the waist and pulled her down to sit in his lap. She did so gladly and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Don't worry so much, Rae. We'll win this battle."

"I hope you're right. I just... have a bad feeling about it." she slid off of his lap and to the ground, "Now hold still."

"Wha-" he jerked a little as she touched his chest and healed the remaining wounds there. She sucked her breath in through her teeth as she did so, squinting her eyes at the pain it caused her. "Shit! Raven!" Beast Boy reached out and caught her as she started to fall over, "Don't do that all at once!"

"I had to... have you..." she breathed a bit deeper, calming herself, "...in fighting form."

"Well thanks, but are you going to be okay?"

"It'll pass in a minute." she stood up on shaky legs, "Let's get ready."

"Who am I taking with me?"

"Jinx. Cyborg will take his car, Speedy will take Robin's bike, I'll fly, and I'm pretty sure Red-X already took off."

"Okay. See you on the roof then?"

"Three minutes." Raven nodded and walked away to find Jinx.

Beast Boy watched her go, noting how her ass even looked good through her white cloak. He suddenly felt like Speedy was one lucky son of a bitch.

* * *

"There you go." Cyborg set the last safety on the beam rifle to stand-by, and turned to his girlfriend. They were in the medical lab, next to the infirmary. It was the most spacious room on the medical level, three-quarters of the way up the tower. Only two doors went in, and both were in easy firing range of the rifle from where he'd set it up on a swivel mount. 

Sarah pointed her hand gun at the floor and pushed the safety down, clicking the slide back into place. She swallowed hard, and placed the gun on the table next to her, behind the beam rifle. Several more clips of bullets sat on that table, as well as a large combat knife.

"I feel like Rambo." she said with a weak voice as she looked back at her boyfriend.

"One more thing." Cyborg handed her a T-Comp, "If the security system is breached, you call me." she started to protest and he held up a hand, "The team will be able to handle the situation if I have to come back here. One of us needs to make sure the Tower isn't compromised. It's too well defended for us to take it back if Slade gets his hands on it."

"So I'm only the guardian of the Tower so far as to hold down the fort until you get back."

"Exactly. You're a non-combatant Sarah. You shouldn't _have_ to fight."

She took a step forward and hugged him about the waist, "You be careful out there, Hunny."

"I'll be back later tonight. We'll have a lot of clean up after this one."

"I know. I'll make you guys a nice dinner again."

"We'll look forward to it."

She stepped back and pushed him towards the door, "Go on now. No goodbyes. We'll see each other later after all."

"Yeah. Good luck, even though I hope you don't need it."

"You too, even though I know you will."

They kissed once more, then Cyborg left. Sarah went back to her position behind the rifle and sat down in the chair she had placed there. Sighing, she pulled out a romance novel and settled down for a long wait.

* * *

Tim moved quickly and quietly up to the fence that surrounded the compound the Joker had set up shop in. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and looked around. No guards near by. 

Climbing over the fence, he dropped to the ground and stood up. Time to start with the act. Knowing he had to get caught, but not before he was deep inside, he was careful not to let his supposed limp be too loud. With the surveillance he had done earlier that day, he knew the patrol patterns of all the guards, so getting close wouldn't be a problem.

Moving quickly again, this time with a fake limp, he made it to the side of the building with no resistance. A stack of crates there sat outside of a window, almost ten feet off the ground. Climbing the stack, he peered inside the window.

It was dark inside the factory, no lights or candles, and nothing that looked like control light LED's from machinery or computers. What was the Joker up to?

Checking his watch, he saw that it was about time. He went back to trying to look in the window just as he heard the crunch of gravel. This stack of crates was right along the patrol path of one of the guards, and his placement had been perfect for getting caught.

Right on cue, he heard a gruff voice shouting at him, "Hey! Kid!" he turned to see a thug wearing a dark over coat pointing a gun at him, "Get down here!"

"Y-yes sir!" he sounded as frightened as he could, which wasn't hard, because he was suddenly scared shitless. Facing a real gun, in a real situation, he suddenly felt very exposed and unprepared.

Telling himself over and over in his mind that Robin wouldn't let anything happen to him, he climbed down the stack of crates, favoring his right leg. When he reached the ground, the gunman stepped forward and jerked his chin away from the factory. Tim moved several more feet away.

"What were ya doin' up there?" the thug asked.

"I was just lookin', honest mister!" he shook his head, "I saw all you guys over here with the hardware and thought I'd take me a look. Ya' know, see what was goin' on."

"This aint no place for a kid, punk. Get lost." he waved his gun towards the fence, and Tim started moving that way.

"Okay, but I don't know if the Joker would like that I know where he is..." he shrugged.

"Stop." the thug switched off the safety of his SMG, "How'd you know we're workin' for the Joker?"

"I seen him up inside."

"You just stay right where you are then." the Thug pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it, "Hey, uh, Mister Jay? We got a problem over here on the west side of the building."

There was a brief pause and then a happy sounding voice replied, "What kind of problem?"

"Some kid says he saw you inside. He's threatening to tell the cops."

"Oh! Visitors? I'll be right out!"

Tim fought not to smile. Robin's plan was going perfectly.

* * *

Jinx gripped Beast Boy's pterodactyl form around the neck tightly, and surveyed the carnage from above as they flew over the city. People were being eaten below them, by what looked like other people. It was truly horrifying. 

"Go down, Gar. We have to stop those things!" she squeezed him and he seemed to nod. Raven, flying nearby, looked over at them.

"We go in fast and hard. Cy and Speedy are right behind us, so be prepared to jump out of the way when they come through. I don't imagine Cyborg is going to slow down much for zombies."

"Whatever, let's just go!" Jinx pushed on Beast Boy's neck and he folded his wings in, going into a dive. She braced to jump off of him, and did so at the last minute. Her foot slammed into a zombie that was bent over, ripping the throat out of a victim with it's teeth. It fell back over, but recovered quickly. The monster crouched a short distance from her, and growled loudly. Jinx's eyes widened when she saw that the zombie was a young man, not more than twenty. He wore blood stained jeans, a green long sleeved t-shirt, and his face was covered with blood from where he had been gnawing on the woman she had kicked him off of. With a shout of anger, it lunged at her.

She kicked it back again, and drew her sword.

Beast Boy had changed into a raptor as soon as he was near the ground, and was currently dodging the swipes of two of the dead people. With a quick slash of his claws, the first blood of the battle was drawn, and the guts of a zombie spilled to the ground.

He froze and changed back into himself, shock evident on his face. He staggered back from the gruesome sight as the woman he had just disemboweled looked up at him with a face full of pain and torment, then slumped to the ground. The second Cursed Dead he'd been fighting lunged at him and tried to bite his neck.

Raven swooped down with a scream and buried one of her daggers to the hilt in the top of it's head, with a twist and a yank, she ripped it out of the back of the zombie's skull, splattering brains and blood all over her white uniform. Glaring at Beast Boy, she shouted, "No more hesitation. Kill them, Beast Boy." and whirled around to slash the throat out of another one that was coming up behind her.

Jinx caught all of this out of the corner of her eye as she watched the zombie she was fighting recover from her last kick. As it stood up again and whirled back to face her, she brought the katana down in a powerful chop, slicing to almost the middle of the zombie's chest, from it's shoulder. Yanking her sword back, she watched as the blood spilled and the Cursed Dead died.

Turning to her left, she faced three more of them. Lifting her sword into a battle stance, she screamed and charged.

* * *

At first it was hard to make out exactly what the figure walking towards him was wearing, but when the person got closer he could see that it was a purple pin stripe suit with long coat tails. The Joker's white face grinned at him, green hair blowing slightly in the breeze. 

Tim had never had a clown stare at him like he was a piece of meat before, and he didn't like having that feeling now.

"So!" the Joker said as he stepped up to Tim and inspected him, "What brings you to my neck of the woods... erm... I didn't catch your name..."

"T... Tommy." Tim caught himself in time, and managed to make it sound like a convincing stutter.

"Well, Tommy, what is it that I can help you with? Want to join up with the gang? Want to hang around with your Uncle Joker? Want to get shot in the foot a few times?" Joker pulled out a revolver and aimed it at Tim's foot, "Hmm?"

"Uh..." Robin hadn't covered this part of the plan. What was he supposed to talk to the Joker about? "I, uh... just wanted to see what was goin' on over here... honest Mister Jay-"

"Call me Uncle Joker."

"Honest Uncle Joker!" Tim fought down his fear and thought fast, "I guess... maybe I could join up with the gang... I'm pretty quiet when I wanna' be and I'm real sneaky like..."

"Yes..." the Joker rubbed his chin, "Yes, I think we could use you!" he snapped his fingers, "I have this nasty bit of scrap caught in the grinder inside and I just bet you'd be able to crawl in there and get it out for me!"

"Um..."

"Of course you'd be ripped into little Tommy chunks a second later, but you _are_ good at fitting into tight spaces, so you might get out alive," Tim and the guard glanced at each other, confused by the Joker's on going monolog, "Then if you get out of that, there's always that light bulb I need changed way up over the vat of lye... or the tooth my pet crocodile needs pulled..."

"Uh, Mister Jay? We don't have no croc." the guard pointed out.

The Joker turned around and shot him in the face.

"Oops!" he turned back to Tim, who was staring at the guard in horror as the man fell over. Reaching up, Tim wiped the blood from the side of his face where it had splattered on him, and looked back over at the Joker.

"Sorry about that!" the Joker looked mildly flustered, "The trigger must have slipped or something."

"Yeah." Tim swallowed hard and nodded.

"Oh well! I need that cleaned up... better call the rest of the boys over." pulling a walkie talkie out of his coat, the Joker spoke into it, "All right boys! Mark couldn't cut it, and had to be fired. Everyone over here to clean it up!"

Tim fought back a smile, which wasn't hard considering he'd just seen a man get his face blown off. The plan was back on track, even if it hadn't gone quite as he had planned.

* * *

Beast Boy hurled another zombie into a wall with all the strength he could muster as a gorilla, and made sure that this one splattered properly. The last one hadn't, and he'd been forced to crush it's skull by hand. 

Finding that he was alone for a moment, be morphed back into himself and looked around, taking in the carnage.

Raven was using her powers to hurl zombies away from her, and any that got to close found out how sharp that dagger of hers really was. Her white uniform was splattered with so much blood that it was practically red now, and her hood had fallen off long ago, exposing her hair to the gore as well. It was matted down on one side where he knew she had been in a headlock and had jabbed her dagger into the zombie's back.

Jinx was a whirled mass of sword and pink energy. Zombies would slip in the puddles of blood surrounding her as they charged in, and she would cut them to ribbons moments later. Her face was streaked with blood, and she had a feral look in her eyes as she beheaded another assailant.

Shaking his head, Beast Boy spoke aloud, "They have it so easy." and spit a mouthful of blood as he did. When you had to become a lion and maul your opponents, you tended to get the stuff in your mouth. For a vegetarian like Beast Boy, it made him want to puke.

As another three zombies broke away form the horde walking down the street and started towards him he morphed into a stegosaurus and prepared to smack them into next Tuesday with his tail spikes. As he hauled back his tail however, the T-Car came out of no where and plowed into the three that were advancing on him.

Morphing back into himself once more, he pumped a fist in the air, "Alright, Cy! About time you guys!"

Speedy came hurling onto the scene moments later as Robin's R-Cycle flew over head. He fired seven shots off before he hit the ground, all of them blowing arms and heads off of zombies, giving Jinx and Raven a chance to regroup with Beast Boy.

"We need to get to Slade." Raven said as she jogged up, "We've wasted too much time trying to kill all of these."

"Well, now that Cy is here, he can just drive through them and we can go along in his wake." Beast Boy grinned over at Jinx, "You know how to ride a horse bare back?"

"I'm not sure that's going to work." Jinx pointed over to where the T-Car was at a stand-still. Cyborg was being pulled out of the door, which had been removed. The tires were torn to shreds by even more zombies, and the ones that had him were starting to claw at the flesh half of his face.

"Get these things off of me!" he screamed at them as he pointed his sonic cannon over his shoulder and blasted the one clawing at him away.

Speedy suddenly jumped on top of the T-Car, hurling his helmet at one of the zombies and smashing it off of Cyborg. Pulling an arrow, he buried it in the last one's chest, stunning it and giving Cy enough time to punch it away from himself before it exploded.

"Damn." Cy said as he blasted with his sonic cannon again, keeping more of the Cursed Dead away. He and Speedy regrouped with the rest of the Titans.

"Now what?" Speedy asked as he fired another arrow at the advancing horde.

Jinx and Raven both hurled waves of energy, the black one pushing the army of the dead back, and the pink one bringing half a building down in front of them, blocking them off from any danger for the moment.

"We have to get to Slade." Raven repeated, "Cy, Speedy, you're our point men for now. We have to go straight through them."

"Why don't those of us that can't fly try to hold them off down here?" Cyborg suggested, "You and Beast Boy can make it to Slade no problem."

"No." Raven shook her head, "There are people between here and there that need saving. We have to save them."

Cyborg nodded, "Alright then. Speedy, looks like you and I are going to have to clear the way."

"Bring it on." Speedy looked pale, but determined.

"Titans," Raven looked around at her blood splattered team, her voice deadly calm, "Go."

* * *

"Man," one gunman said to his patrol partner as they walked towards the factory they were using as a hideout, "This guys is a loon. Sometimes I miss working for Two-Face." 

"Yeah, no kidding." the other guard shrugged, "At least when I was working for Black Mask I got to wear that nifty tribal African mask."

They both chuckled as they walked, until the former Black Masker was plowed off his feet by a green blur. As the other gunman turned to see what was attacking them, he felt strong arms wrap around his throat, putting him in a sleeper hold.

He struggled and tried to elbow whoever was holding him, but it seemed like whoever it was didn't even have their feet on the ground. After a minute, his brain lost too much oxygen and he passed out.

Starfire lowered him to the ground, then quickly set about using several zip ties to bind the men. Dragging them over behind a stack of crates, she stood and turned to go find more.

And almost ran right into Robin.

"Oh!" she stumbled back and he grinned at her as her hand flew up to her chest, "Do not startle me like that Richard!"

"Sorry." he took a step forward and grabbed hold of her arms, "Come here." he said in a strong voice and pulled her to him, kissing her. She giggled into his mouth as he turned her and pinned her against the crates, one hand running up her side and across her breast, and the other creeping up under her skirt.

She held him to her, her own hands gripping at his butt and his hair, crushing his mouth to hers. After several moments, he pulled away from her, breathing heavily.

"What was that all about?" she asked as he stepped away.

"Because I wanted to get one more good one in before we do this." he looked away and pulled out a grappler, "Just in case."

"Do not talk like that Robin." she stepped up to him and hugged him briefly, "We will finish this and go home, where we will then finish what we started just a moment ago."

He grinned and lifted his arm, "Alright, Kori. Get in position."

"Right." and she let him go as he fired off his grappler and swung up into the night.

* * *

Speedy fired arrow after arrow into the zombie's that were attacking Jinx as she swung her sword around in deadly swipes. He could see that the constant battling was taking it's toll on her, and she was starting to slow down. 

"Raven!" he shouted, "We're not getting anywhere and we're getting tiered! We need to regroup and rest!"

"Not yet!" she shouted back as she held a wall of force in front of her, barely holding back at least twenty zombies, "The building up ahead has it's doors barred! There are living people in there, and they need this street cleared so they can get out!"

Beast Boy charged past on the other side of her wall, his bull horns skewering several zombies. As he became a Tyrannosaur, he turned back around and chomped up a mouthful of them. Shaking his head around to make sure that his teeth ripped them up well enough, he then spit them back out and went for more.

"Hey!" Raven turned her head to look over at Cyborg, who was throwing punches left and right in a steady rythem, slugging zombies out of his way, "Little help here guys?" he had been seperated from them by several yards, and the Cursed Dead had quickly taken advantage of a lone person to attack.

"Damnit." Raven lowered her shield, hoping Beast Boy could hold off that portion of the horde and spun around, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she called as she reached out with her powers and picked up a bus, using it like a club to clear the zombies away that were seperating her from Cyborg.

As she hurled the bus over his head and into another group of them, he blinked, "Thanks." he said as he started forward. When the bus hit the ground behind him, it exploded.

Turning to look at the rising fireball, Cy shouted out in alarm as a smaller zombie jumped up and tried to bite his face. Swatting it back, he paused as he heard mettle clanging against mettle.

"No..." he breathed as the child zombie stood up and turned back to him with a growl, "No... Marvin..."

The child before him wore a blue baseball uniform, and was flexing a prosthetic hand. The jersey read 'Team Cyborg' across the front.

* * *

"Well!" the Joker stretched as his guards started to come together, "Tommy, what do you think we should do with poor Mark here?" he motioned to the body of the guard he had just killed, "How do you get rid of a body?" 

"Um..." Tim thought about all of the gangster movies he'd ever seen, and of any thing he'd ever read in the papers that might help him here, "We should dump him in the river? Or maybe use that grinder you were talking about?"

The Joker looked over at him with a smile and stared for a moment. Tim fidgeted.

"You think you should be in charge here, is that it?" the Joker just kept staring and smiling, "You think you should be calling the shots?" he pointed his gun at Tim's head, "Like maybe... this shot?"

Tim had time to reflect on how truly insane the Joker was as he watched the madman's finger tighten on the trigger. He knew his life was over, and thoughts just kept flying through his head. He'd never be a Titan. He'd never see his dad again. He'd never make love to a girl, or have a family, or get a good job, or-"

"I don't think there needs to be any more shots called tonight, Joker." Robin's voice grew louder as he descended from above, "By you or anyone else but me!"

Landing in front of Tim, Robin drew his cape up and whirled it around, catching the bullet as it was fired from the gun and taking away it's momentum as it got caught in the polymerized titanium weave.

"Go!" he shouted over his shoulder at Tim, even as he kicked out and the Joker's gun went flying. The ten guards who had congregated were stunned for a moment by the Boy Wonder's sudden appearance, giving Tim all the time he needed to duck under their arms and sprint away into the night.

"Don't shoot!" the Joker said as the gunman started to raise their weapons, "You'll hit me you idiots! Grab him and kill him!"

Robin grinned as they threw down their guns and advanced on him.

* * *

When Starfire heard Robin shouting up ahead, she gave up all pretence of stealth and flew forward at an alarming rate. She caught up to the two guards she'd been stalking and slammed her fist into the back of one of their heads, then snap kicked the other one in the face as he turned around to face her. Both went down, unconscious before they hit the ground. 

Blasting forward again, she started hurling Starbolts with great persition thanks to the aiming device Robin had supplied her with. Her low powered blasts were enough to knock out a normal human, but not strong enough to do any lasting damage. She took out six more men who were charging at the massive melee where she knew Robin was fighting.

As she reached the group, she paused and watched with pride as Robin single handedly took on all ten thugs. Throwing a punch at the Joker's face, Robin kicked out and sent one of the thugs reeling. As the Joker ducked, Robin's fist slammed into the guard that was behind him. It had been timed perfectly, Robin knowing just when the Joker would duck, and exactly where all of his opponets were. He was truly a wonder.

Shaking her head, she flew in and grabbed one of the thugs, hurling him back into the stack of crates Tim had been climbing on, smashing them into splinters. Robin kicked a man who was about to punch her. She slugged another who was about to jump on him.

It took them all of ten more seconds to render the rest of the guards unconscious, and turn to face the Joker, who was holding his hands up over his face in a defensive manner. Peeking through his fingers, he grinned and laughed at them, "Good show there! Who's your girlfriend Robin?"

"The girl who will be kicking your ass!" Starfire said as she hauled back a starbolt and let it fly. The Joker ducked it and took off around the corner of the building, laughing like a madman.

"Star, call the police in and start taking out the rest of the guards." Robin took off at a sprint, calling back over his shoulder, "I'll deal with the Joker!"

She frowned, not happy with his orders, but nodded anyway. She understood that it was personal for him, and if he wanted to take the Joker down himself, she would let him.

Hoping her boyfriend would be alright, Star flew up into the night sky, pulling out her T-Comp. She sent a message to 911 dispatch and started scanning the ground with her night vision lense, looking for any guards that might still be around and for any sign of Tim.

* * *

Tim hid behind a derelect looking forklift, watching as a group of three guards walked past, guns at the ready. He listened to what they were saying. 

"We have the perimiter secured?"

"Yeah, Roger just called in and said we're good. If the cops show up, we have a fall back point picked out and everything."

"As long as no one gets in or out, that's all I care about. I'm gonna' kill that kid that was with the Boy Blunder and his stupid bitch girlfriend."

"How da'ya know the kid was working with the Junior Bat?"

"Saw him tell the kid to run."

"Well, I guess that's somethin..."

As their voices faded, Tim evaluated his options. He had a few weapons, and he knew the basic layout of the factory yard. The guards would kill him if he tried to get out, but they could also kill him if he stayed in.

On the other hand, Starfire was still around somewhere, and if he could find her, he'd be safer. Taking one last glance around to be sure he was safe, Tim took off again, this time heading back towards the factory.

* * *

"Come on, Melvin!" Cyborg begged, "You can't be totally gone! You can't be dead!" 

He held the boy up by both of his wrists, one in each of his own hands. The child zombie kicked at him and growled and spit, looking more like an animal than the spunky left handed hitter Cy knew.

Raven looked over at him from where she was stabbing a zombie in the neck repeatedly, and saw that he was being surrounded again. As he continued to try and reach Melvin, move zombies started to claw at his body armor, trying to get to his human organs underneath.

"Cyborg!" she yelled at him, dropping the zombie she had just killed and flying over to him, "Cy, he's dead!"

"No!" Cyborg shook his head, tears running down from his human eye, "He can't be dead! He's just a kid!"

"He's got shrapnal buried in his back, Cy! He's gone!" Raven slashed the throat out of one of the Cursed Dead ripping into her friend, and used her powers to hurl another one away.

"I know this kid, Rae... I can't... he isn't..."

"Victor." Raven said as she pulled the last zombie away and left one of her daggers in it's chest, "He's gone. Right now, his unlife is a constant craving for blood and flesh that can never be sated. They're called the Cursed Dead for a reason, Cy." she surrounded them in a shield of darkness, keeping the other zombies at bay, "End it for him, Cy. End his suffering."

Cyborg closed his eye and sobbed. He hesitated for only a moment longer before he looked up with a scream of agony and pulled.

Melvin was ripped into two halves, his blood splattering down on the street like rain.

Raven stepped forward to where Cyborg was staring down at the remains of one of his baseball players, and put and hand on his arm, "You did the right thing, Cy. They can't be brought back."

"I know." he said, jerking his arm out of her grasp, "Let's just finish this. Let's get to Slade."

"Yeah." Raven nodded, and lowered the shield, "Let's go."

* * *

"Star..." Tim mumbled as he peeked around an oil drum, "Where are you when I need you?" 

"Who's Star?" a gruff voice asked, and he felt a gun barrel being pressed into the back of his head.

"Um... the glowing green girl." Tim stood up slowly, the gun still pressed to his skull, "You want me to call her down here so you can burn her?"

"Don't play dumb with me, kid. I know you're on their side."

"Well..." Tim spun around, knocking the gun aside, "Yeah, I am!" he shouted as he hurled a small smoke bomb into the man's chest, blowing them apart and filling the area with a heavy white cloud.

"Hey!" the thug shouted, "I can't see a thing!"

Tim dropped down to the ground as the smoke started to rise, and looked around. It was clear as day under the cloud, and he saw the man's feet. Lashing out his foot, he kicked the thug's knees, knocking him to the ground.

"Umph!" the man grunted as he landed, and Tim jumped forward immediately, slamming and elbow across his opponents face. Crawling back, he saw that he'd knocked the man out.

"Cool." he said as he grinned. Crawling away some more, he saw the wall of the factory, and a drainage pipe from the roof that was running down the side. If he could climb it, he'd be safe on the roof, and have a better chance of hooking up with Starfire.

Crawling over, he started to climb.

* * *

"That was no fun at all." Speedy said as the regrouped Titans dashed down the street, "What's our kill count up to now?" 

"Fifty seven." Cyborg reported.

"Eighty four." Beast Boy said, spitting some more blood as he did, "Yuck."

"I can confirm seventy on the nose," Jinx said, "but there could be more that I dropped a building on or something."

"I've got eighty six." Raven reported in a monotone.

"And I've put down forty three." Speedy did some quick math in his head, "That's 340 confirmed then. Beast Boy, what was the casualty report you pulled up?"

"Estimated two hundred fifty." he replied in a grim tone.

"Christ. The more they kill, the more Slade can raise." Jinx shook her head, "Half the city could be dead by now."

"Let's not worry about it," Raven huffed as they jogged, and finally took flight to keep up, "If we can get to Slade, I can use the Arcana and the book to cast a counter spell that will un-animate them. We just need..." they rounded the corner as she was talking and all stopped in their tracks, "just need to... to..." her eyes widened in horror, "Oh, God." she breathed.

Spread out before them, a sea of the undead milled about in the city square. The large screen that over looked the square displayed a news studio, where zombies were tearing apart the dead news casters.

"Sweet Jesus." Speedy said, "How many are there?"

A black form dropped down next to them and they all jumped back ready to kill it.

Red-X stared back at them and shook his head, "Bit jumpy?" he asked. His suit was splattered with blood, and his mask was smeared with it. It looked like he'd wiped it from his eyes at one point.

"You have any intelligence for us?" Speedy asked.

"The optic scanner Robin built into this mask counted at least a thousand of them. There's more that were past it's range though, so I'm sure of an exact number." he shook his head, and sighed, "It doesn't look good."

"We have to get past this point to get to Slade." Raven pointed up the street several blocks where they could barely make out a figure standing on top of a building, "How do we do it?"

"We make a path." Beast Boy said as he became a Triceratops.

"Agreed." Red-X nodded, we can keep them at bay long enough to get through. When we get closer, those of you that can fly are going to have to try and get Slade down here so we can deal with him together."

"Let's do it." Raven said and turned to the horde, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she screamed, hurling black energies forward, slicing a swath of zombies cleanly in half.

The Titans charge in with a single battle cry.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Raven was reconsidering the value of the plan. 

Surrounded by zombies on all sides, she stood back to back with Speedy, a dagger in each hand while he tried to keep the Cursed Dead at bay with his arrows.

"I'm running out of arrows!" Speedy said, a note of panic edging into his voice.

"They you'll have to fall back to the axe I gave you, wont you?" Raven replied as she slashed at a zombie that managed to get in close, spilling it's blood on the ground at her feet, splattering her legs with it.

"Guess so." Speedy fired his last arrow, and dropped his bow. Pulling out the axe, they started circling, "You think we can do this?"

"No." Raven laughed.

"Yeah. Hey..."

"What?"

"I love you."

Raven turned around quickly and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was brief, but sincere, "I love you too." she said.

"Not the time, guys." they looked over in time to see Red-X slash his way through the ring that surrounded them with his wrist spikes and shake his head, "I know she's a great kisser Jason, but come on."

"Shut it, Brian." Speedy grinned as he let go of Raven and whirled around, taking the head off of an advancing zombie. Raven blushed and slashed at another of the walking dead as it got too close to her.

"I'll never hear the end of this from the two of you will I?"

"Probobly not." Red-X litterally took apart another zombie, "I'll be making fun of you about the roof top sex thing for the rest of your life."

"God, I do it once, with _you_, and you wont leave me alone about it!"

"It would help if there was a single person in the tower you hadn't made out with or had sex with." Speedy put in as he swung his axe again.

Raven fumed as she used her powers to blast back a few more zombies, "I've never done a _thing _with Cyborg or Starfire."

"Does that mean you've had sex with Beast Boy and Jinx?" Red-X asked, chucking a zombie back into the horde, knocking down several more and momentarily halting their advance. When no response came from the psion, he turned with a slash at the nearest zombie and looked at her, "You've had sex with Jinx and Beast Boy?" he asked with a fair amount of shock in his voice.

"At the same time actually." Speedy replied in a happy voice as he split a zombie's skull open.

"And here I thought we were special." Red-X slapped away a zombie that was trying to get to Raven from her back and nudged her, "What'd you do with Robin?"

"Kissed him." she mumbled as she used her powers to rip the street up in front of her, blasting the broken rock like bullets through the nearby zombies.

"Damn. No Starfire action though? That'd be hot."

"I'm going to kill both of you when I get done with these zombies." Raven replied in a conversational manner.

Red-X and Speedy just laughed and kept on fighting.

* * *

Beast Boy morphed back from his tyrannosaur form and looked around, wiping more blood from his face. He'd gone further than he had wanted to, but it looked like Jinx had stayed with him. She was slashing at the few zombies that remained anywhere near him. He'd been plowing though them with a fair amount of zeal. 

Looking the other way, he saw that there were very few zombies left between him and the building Slade was on top of. Narrowing his eyes, he turned into a pterodactyl and prepared to take flight.

"Not without me, you don't." Jinx said as she jumped on his back, "Let's go, Gar." she patted his head and he took off.

Silently, he thanked whatever God or God's that could be listening that she was with him. He knew he couldn't take Slade alone, or even get him off the building alone. With Jinx, they at least stood a chance.

Flying up higher, he set his will and determination. They would _not_ fail Jump City now.

* * *

Sarah was just getting to the good part of her novel when the alarm went off. Looking up at the computer display nearby, she searched for the entry point. 

"The garage." she whispered. The zombies had come up the tunnel that ran under the bay and on to the main land and had gotten into the Tower through the garage.

Putting her book aside, she checked the beam rifle's power supply and nodded. The dead guys had six levels of the Tower's defense system to make it through before they got to her, and if they did, she'd be ready to-

The lights suddenly went off. Emergency lighting flickered on a moment later, and the computer in front of her flashed a warning.

SECURITY SYSTEM RUNNING AT MINIMAL LEVELS! EVACUATION RECOMMENDED!

Sarah swallowed hard. Evacuation would send her right out into the heart of zombie territory. Staying meant she would have to fight them here. Without the Tower's power grid though, the beam rifle was useless.

She turned to the table behind her, and picked up the combat knife. Strapping it to her leg, she made sure it was within easy reach. Next, she picked up a belt with several pouches and put the clips for her gun in them. Slinging it around her shoulders like a bandolier, she hefted her gun.

Swallowing once more, she moved towards the door of the medical lab.

* * *

Cy's heart would have stopped momentarily if it hadn't been mechanical. 

The alarm on his arm was blaring, and suddenly, the zombie he was fighting didn't seem all that important. He punched it's head off.

Then the alarm shut off. Looking down at it, he saw that the Tower's main power grid had been shut off.

"Oh no..." he turned and blasted a swath through the zombie army with his sonic cannon, "Raven!" he shouted, "I have to get back to the Tower!"

"No way!" she screamed back as he saw a dome of black energy hurl zombies in every direction, "It's suicide to try and fight back through all of this!"

"I have to! Sarah's there, and the power's been cut! The security system wont keep them at bay for very long!"

"She's a tough girl! She'll be fine!" Raven tried to get to Cyborg's side, but the zombies wouldn't let her past.

"I'm going, Rae." Cyborg called back, "I'm sorry."

"Cyborg!" she screamed, "Cy!"

Pain exploded though her body as a zombie bit down into her shoulder.

Screaming, she put a dagger though it's head and lashed about herself with tendrils of black energy that diced the surrounding zombies into hunks of meat. Speedy and Red-X were nowhere to be seen. Beast Boy and Jinx were God knows where. Cyborg had just left to go back to the Tower and save Sarah.

As her own blood joined that which was already staining her uniform, she breathed heavily. Looking around in the moment of peace, she saw that Jump City was burning. Buildings were on fire, zombies were roaming the streets, people were being ripped apart, and the Titans were falling apart.

"Why is this happening!" she screamed and held her head in her hands. Anger grew inside of her and she fought it, "No... not now... stay... in... your... cage..."

Looking back up, Raven slashed the throat out of the zombie that had walked up to her while she was trying to keep the Seed under control. Panting for breath, she growled out, "Why is everything falling apart?"

* * *

Starfire swooped down and lifted a thug off his feet. He shouted out in alarm as she spun around and hurled him bodily into an old storage bin. Flying over to his unmoving form, she bound him and stepped away, dusting off her hands. 

There was a thump behind her, and she turned to see a man's stomach. Looking up, she saw as chest, then a neck, and then a head.

A head that was almost four feet above hers.

"My!" she smiled up at the giant metehuman sweetly, "You're mother must be proud of the way you've grown!"

A gunman stepped up behind the metehuman, "Bout time you showed up, Bruiser. Teach this little girl not to mess with the Joker!"

"Pretty girl make good plaything." Bruiser said as he licked his lips.

"Yeah, good idea. Don't break her too much, and we might be able to have a little fun with her later!"

"Stop talking about me as if I am not here!" Star shouted as she punched Bruiser in the chest, sending him flying back several feet. The thug behind him lunged out of the way as the metehuman hit the ground.

Star nodded once and started forward to bind the giant, "He was not so tough..." she said to the gunman.

Then Bruiser sat up.

"Oh." Star blinked, "Oh no."

Bruiser's fist slammed into her head, blasting her twenty yards to her right. She hit the ground with a grunt and rolled up to her feet quickly. Taking up a fighting stance, she scowled at the metehuman, "I fear I am going to have to be a bit rougher on you than normal. I apologize for any broken bones in advance."

* * *

The Joker pelted into the old warehouse section of the factory, laughing his head off as he went. Crates and boxes were stacked every where in no particular order, giving the large space a cramped feel. Old papers covered the ground, and a few small animals ran for cover as Robin came dashing in behind the clown. 

He stopped short when he saw that the Joker was simply standing in the middle of the warehouse, smiling at him.

"Now this wouldn't be about Batgirl would it?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"That's exactly what this is about!" Robin took a step forward, scowling, "I'm taking you down, Joker!"

"Oh no... you and Batgirl used to be an item, right? Bringing your new girlfriend to help avenge your old one... that's pretty bold, Robin!"

"Shut up." Robin ordered, advancing further, "Starfire and Batgirl are friends, that's why she's here."

"You know, I always liked Batgirl better than Batman..." the Joker strolled over to a box and ripped a board off of it, "She fills out the costume better if you know what I mean." he inspected the nail in the end of his board, making sure it was rusty enough, "How is she anyway?"

"Dead." he said with a quiet voice. It was true, after all. Batgirl was dead, even if Babs wasn't.

"Oh, that's too bad. I guess we're going to fight now, and you'll arrest me?"

"No..." Robin smiled his own insane smile, "I'm going to make you wishthat I had."

* * *

Closing Notes: Woo! What the hell can happen that I haven't already thrown at them? Wait... that's right, I'm evil. I'll think of something, I'm sure. :) 

Reviewer responses!

Brogramn - The Cyborg moment of doubting Jinx _was_ a little off... I just didn't know where else to put it. I'd wanted it in for some time, but just couldn't find a good time to do it. Hope their heart to heart at the begining of this chapter cleared that one up a little.

Stolen Valkyrie - You seem to be picking out all the things I know I do wrong. I've never been able to break my awkward sentance problom, or my spelling errors, since I know I just spelled problom wrong. Again, my diolog has always been my strong point, as I've been told since I started writng years ago. As always though, you're review was great, and you make me feel like a better writer every time you type one up. Thanks for everything, and as we come to the end of this ride, I hope it's living up to your expectations.

losernerd - Who said the Titans are going to get out of this one? Who says they have to have a happy ending? I still have two more stories in this series to do that:)

StarryRavenFire - Hope you have more time to review this one. :) The zombie scenes are suposed to remind you of Resident Evil. Of every zombie game and movie ever made actually. My zombies move more quickly than most, but that's just another freaky aspect of them. Were you scared at all? I was writing it, but then, I can see exactly what I have going on in the story in my head. I tried to convay it, but I'm not sure if it happened.

Firpi - In the comics, I think Starfire was the bustiest DCUer ever. I mean, damn. I'm thinking about modifying her outfit later in this story to match her comic outfit. Hope you liked the storm after the calm! It's going to get really bad from here!

Heaven's Angel - Glad to hear from you again! The story rocked, and you were the first one to catch the hidden meaning in bonus question #2! Great job:)

nihil - You... you don't like Dick? COME ON! Okay, so he can be kind of a cockyass every now and then, but dude... it's Dick! Oh well. Can't please everyone.

seattleitegirl - There was a little bit of romance inthis chappy, but way more of the LIVING DEAD! Hope the zombies didn't creep you out too much, and yes, I do know where I'm going with Tim. He's been in the plan from the very begining of Sonata. :)

Kokuryu - The bonus question winner! Yay! You NAILED the first one, and the second one, even though it'd been answered correctly before you, you handled expertly as well.Way to go! Mail me and we'll figure out your cameo. :)

Sympathique - Zombies rule. Yeah. Once again, a reviewer who read BOTH stories right in a row? Damn. I'mipressed. Have been since people starteddoing it back in chapter six of this story. Getting through all nine though? That's got to be a LONG read. :) Hope to hear from you again!

ChaosChampion - I think I have the link thing sorted out now. My LJ canbe accessed through the homepage link inmy profile. I always thought Mikron sounded... stupid. I named Gizmo Matt in this story because I wanted him to be easier to relate to, sothe reader wouldfeel more sorryfor him. He might pop up again later, but I don'tthink so. As for what comes next... just read the chapter 11 preview below!

robinstar -Cliff hangers are my specialty. You should know that by now! You've been with me sinceSonata! Anyway,Speedy and Raven will get theirs later. Keep reading, and I hope to hear from you again!

Arezal - The little bits of comedy I throw in are oftenhailed as thebest parts of my stories. I'm glad I keep you laughing, and hopeto hear from you again soon!

Thanks guys, your reviews keep me going! For those of you who haven't read my other stuff beyond the Music of Jump City, please do! I'd like to hear your oppinons on some of my other styles!

* * *

Next Chapter: Terror is unleashed on Jump City as the Cursed Dead multiply in numbers, Raven goes berserk, and Jinx and BeastBoy confront Slade in the final showdown. Robin fights the Joker, Starfire fights Bruiser,Speedy and Red-X fight for their lives, Sarah fights for her sanity, and Cyborg fights for Sarah. 

When it's over, and the dust settles, the Titans find themselves short a member.Words are spoken, feelings are hurt, love is lost, and the Tower falls silent.

Next time: The End of Everything


	11. Chapter 11: The End of Everything

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans FanFiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: This chapter is a little choppy. Sorry. It jumps around a lot between the different story lines until they all start to gel back together. Oh, and it's like, all action. No romance, no fluff, hardly any humor, and no fun for the Titans. Just straight ass kicking the whole way through.

As an additional note, it was pointed out in one of my reviews that I never gave a description for that Tim Drake guy. Being my typical silly self, I never thought there might be fans of the show out there that don't read the comics. It's a bad habit I seem to have. So here it is in a nutshell; Tim Drake looks like Robin, only younger. Black hair, blue eyes, same kind of build, same kind of hair style. There's a reason for all of that, and if you don't know it already, then I'm nottelling you here. You'll just have to read the next story to find out!

Standard disclaimers apply: I don't own Teen Titans, and I'm way too tiered to think of a witty line to put here.

* * *

Chapter 11: The End of Everything

* * *

Cyborg jumped from the top of one building and came down hard on the next one over, smashing the roof in a little. He didn't even slow down to inspect the damage as he kept running, then jumped right off the next ledge. 

Slamming into the next building over, he kept running. There were no zombies to impeed his dash back to the Tower up here, and he was taking full advantage of that fact to move as fast as he could back to Sarah.

"Hold on Baby..." he whispered as he jumped the next building, "Hold on."

* * *

Tim Drake was a lot of things, but a super hero was not one of them. 

Not yet any way.

And not if he didn't get out of this situation alive.

Looking down through the skylight of warehouse section of the factory from where he was on the roof, he saw Robin and the Joker talking. They stood between the two production lines that ran the length of the building on either side, near the walls. Stacks of crates, and a few piles of wooden pallets stood all over the place, giving the cavernous space a maze like quality. A few forklifts sat here and there, but they looked like they hadn't been run in a decade.

From his vantage, Tim could see several blinking lights, and squinted to see what exactly they were.

Reading the letters on the side of one of the bundles nearest the skylight he was looking through, Tim felt his heart begin to pound.

The whole place was wired with C4.

Robin said something and pointed, and the Joker laughed.

Frantically looking for a way to get down there to warn Robin about the bombs, Tim saw a hole in the rusty sheet metal that served as the slightly slanted roof. Walking over, he saw that it was thirty feet down to a hard concert floor from where he was. His eyes scanned the roof top until they fell on an old fire hose that was attached to the water tower that rose above the production line.

Running over, he started yanking coils of it off the spool to throw through the hole and climb down.

* * *

Raven kicked a zombie out of the doorway of an apartment building, five blocks from where Slade had stationed himself. The rest of her team had vanished into the horde of the undead, and she had been left alone to fight off the small army of them that were attacking a building full of living people. 

Clearing the hall ways hadn't been to hard for her, really. It was keeping the damn things out that seemed to be the challenge. She couldn't bar the doors with her powers, and then leave to fight more zombies. She needed to concentrate to keep the barrier working.

So while she thought about a solution to her predicament, she stood in the doorway and knocked back any zombies foolish enough to try to get past her.

But because they were mindless and only craved human flesh, that was roughly all of them.

After another minute or so of blasting the Cursed Dead back or slashing them to bits with her daggers, Raven finally just cursed loudly and flew up over their heads. Lifting a garbage truck that sat across the street with her powers, she deposited it in front of the building.

"That'll hold 'em for a little while." Glancing up, she saw Beast Boy and Jinx flying up to confront Slade. She'd need to get the team over there to help. Pulling out her T-Comp, she prayed Speedy was still with Red-X, and that he was able to answer her call.

* * *

Speedy glanced down at his belt pouch as his T-Comp started blowing up. Taking another hack at the zombie he was facing, he took a step back, "Cover me, dude!" he called to Red-X who just nodded and slashed the head off of the monster in front of him. 

Speedy pulled out the communicator and flipped it open, "Talk to me, Rae."

"Beast Boy and Jinx are on their way to try and knock Slade down to street level. Is Brian still with you, and can you make it there?"

"Yes and no." Speedy swung his axe one handed and took a healthy chunk out of the shoulder of one of the zombies that pressed in all around them, "We kind of got side tracked into the train station. There's hundreds of these things in here."

"Shit." Raven looked away from her T-Comp and then back to it, "I'm going to see about helping them. Please stay alive?"

"I'll do my best." Speedy nodded and grinned, "Speedy out."

The line went dead, so he put the device away and took his axe in both hands again, "Suggestions?" he asked Red-X as they started hacking away at the dead people around them with renewed vigor.

"Blow up the building. No wait... get more of them in here, then blow up the building."

Speedy thought on it for a moment as he yanked his axe out of the nearest zombie's skull, "Let's do it." he nodded.

"I didn't actually think you'd go for it..." Red-X laughed.

* * *

Sarah peered around the corner of a hall way on the residential level of the Tower. She had just come down the ladder in the elevator shaft and had moved out into the hall, past Cyborg's room, then past Robin's room. Around the corner, she could see Raven and Starfire's rooms on the right side of the hall, and Jinx and Beast Boy's rooms on the left. 

She inhaled sharply when she saw that the door to Beast Boy's room was open, and heard sounds of someone moving about in it.

Swallowing hard, she took a deep breath and hefted her gun. Moving as quietly as she could, she walked over to the door of Starfire's room, not more than five feet down from where Beast Boy's door opened out on the other side of the hall.

Sarah didn't waste any time finding the manual opening mechanism at the side of Star's door and pulling the lever down. With a hiss, the pressure holding the panels shut released, and the two doors slid apart slightly. Taking her eyes off of the door way to Beast Boy's room for the first time since she'd come around the corner, Sarah quickly thrust her hands between the panels and pulled them open the rest of the way.

Glancing back to make sure whatever was in Beast Boy's room wasn't coming out yet, she dashed into Star's dwelling. Looking about frantically, her eyes landed on a pink, heart shaped back pack.

"That'll do." she muttered, more to hear her own voice than to confirm her discovery. She grabbed it, opened it, and dumped the few contents on to Star's bed. The blond girl then rushed quickly over to a large crib set up in the corner and reached in, cooing at the worm like creature inside.

"Come here, Silkie!" she said quietly, "Auntie Sarah is going to make sure the nasty zombie's don't eat you." Silkie squirmed a little, upset at being woken, but he knew the sound of her voice, so he didn't struggle too much.

Placing him in the bag so that his head would still be popping out, she quickly slung it over her shoulders, "Alright Silkie. Let's get out of here before-"

A moan from the doorway cut her off and she whirled around to pinpoint the sound. There, standing at the threshold of Star's door, was a young man wearing a suit. Half of his head had been blown off, exposing a bloody brain on one side. The tips of his fingers looked as if they'd been gnawed off by something, and just the bone remained, pointed into wicked looking claws. Gore was splattered down his front, and it looked as if he'd had more than one meal recently.

"Oh, Christ..." Sarah lifted her gun and aimed it with shaking hands, "Don't come any closer!"

The zombie just growled at her and started forward at a remarkably quick pace. It took Sarah by surprise; most zombie movies portrayed the creatures as being slow and stupid. This one was fast, and it was moving to flank her.

Silkie squealed in her ear, drawing her out of her dazed state, and forcing action from her. Screaming, she pulled the trigger.

For having never fired a gun before, she thought she did remarkably well. The bullet hit the Cursed Dead in it's chest, blowing most of it's arm off. The kick from the gun sent Sarah reeling back until she fell on Starfire's bed, electing a squeal of protest form Silkie as he was pressed beneath her. Sarah watched in horror as the zombie pitched over backwards and landed on the floor, quite dead, and no longer moving.

"Holy shit..." she breathed, and quickly sat up. Turning her eyes away from the corpse on the floor, and the blood painting Starfire's walls, she ran for the door. Out in the hallway, she looked back at the open doors of the elevator shaft and saw another zombie already pulling it's self up. It looked up at her and growled out an inhuman noise.

Sarah pointed her gun again, braced her feet, and pulled the trigger. This time, she blew it's head clean off it's shoulders, knocking it back down the shaft.

Whirling around, she dashed back down the hall way and to the elevator shaft she'd just come down from. Grabbing hold of the ladder once again, and being sure to not look down, Sarah started climbing, heading for the roof.

* * *

Starfire dodged to the side as Bruiser's fist slammed into the ground she'd been standing on half a second before. Lashing out with her foot, she caught him in the chin, flipping him over to his back with a solid _thud!_

It didn't seem to matter how many times she knocked him down; the huge metehuman always got back up. They'd been playing cat and mouse for several minutes now, and it was starting to wear on her.

"Can you please stay down this time?" she begged of Bruiser, even as he stood back up. Sighing, she flew in and hauled back a fist, "I asked nicely. Now I must use more force than is really nessis- _omph!"_

Bruiser's hand had shot out more quickly than she had seen him move before, and he caught her by the throat. His hand was so huge that it covered most of her head as well, and it gave him good leverage to heft her over his head and slam her face first into the ground.

As he pulled her up, she gasped for breath. The blow had knocked the wind out of her, and having her face pushed into the ground hadn't allowed her to catch it yet. Blood sprinkled off of her forehead from a small cut, and as she kicked and struggled to get away from him, he brought her back down into the ground again.

Several guards watched in horror as Bruiser began to mercilessly pound her face into the ground again and again.

* * *

Robin let the tension ease out his shoulders and legs as he faced the Joker. He needed to be loose. Needed to be ready for an attack from every angle. The crazy old clown wouldn't have run in here if he hadn't had it completely wired with all kinds of nasty traps. 

"So," the Joker said with a grin, "Going to come pummel me?"

"No." Robin smirked, and hurled a freeze disk at his opponent, "I'm going to make sure you can't move first!"

"Oh!" the Joker jumped back as several flame throwers concealed in the manufacturing line incinerated the disk before it even got to him, "Well! Looks like you found that one!"

Robin scowled and charged. Jumping into the air, he ran across the tops of the flame throwers, closing in rapidly on the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime back peeled until he was near a box set on a desk off to one side. From there he started throwing small bombs.

"You'll have to do better than that, Joker." Robin shouted as he dodged the bombs, "I'm a hell of a lot faster than I used to be."

"And a hell of a lot stupider!" Robin came up short as he found himself staring down the barrel of a .45. Jumping back, he threw his cape up.

The gun went off and Robin fell back. Hitting the ground with a grunt, he rolled over and gasped for breath. The bullet had gone through his cape at that range, but had lost a lot of velocity. The Kevlar his uniform was lined with had held, but he knew he had a busted rib. Spitting some blood, he rolled away and hid behind a stack of crates.

"Stupid, Grayson." he muttered, "Full on, amateur, stupid."

* * *

Tim saw Robin go down as the Joker pulled the trigger, even as he dropped the last few feet from the hose he was using to climb down into the warehouse. He quickly jumped from the top of the machine he was standing on and rolled when he hit the floor. Pulling out a small blast grenade, he crept along behind the production line, looking between the supports that held the line up so he could keep an eye on where the Joker was. 

As he rounded the corner of the line, he saw the Joker sneaking towards the crates that Robin had rolled behind. Grinning, he tossed the grenade and watched it blow a small crater in the concret floor of the warehouse, right next to the mad man's foot.

"Whoh!" The Joker reeled back, "You're everywhere at once, aren't you?"

Tim heard Robin's voice, "Just because one of your nasty little toys backfired on you, doesn't mean you have to blame me for your misfortune!" and then the colorfully clad young hero dropped from the top of the stack of crates he had been hiding behind and kicked the Joker soundly in the chest, sending him to the ground and knocking the gun from his hand.

Robin was on him in an instant, "This ends now!" he shouted, and hauled back a fist.

The Joker laughed out loud as he held up a remote and pushed a button. Bottle rockets started to launch from every concivable part of the factory, and Robin was forced to dodge back in order to avoid the slightly larger than normal bangs they were making.

The Joker scrambled away, laughing the whole time, as he started dropping small bombs from his pockets. The noise and light was confusing, and Tim was having a hard time finding cover from the rockets. As he huddled down behind the line, he just hoped that Robin as able to take out the crazy clown soon.

* * *

Beast Boy flew up past the edge of the buildings roof, and Jinx leapt from his back as he did. She landed in a crouch, her sword at the ready, facing Slade. He stood only fifteen feet from her, book in one hand, and the staff in the other. As Beast Boy landed next to her, once again in his humanoid form, Slade spoke to them. 

"Well, well. The changeling I expected to show up and annoy me, but you Jinx?" he shook his head, "I never thought one of my former employees would turn on me."

"Shut up, you psycho." Beast Boy growled out in a voice much lower than his normal tone, "You're going _down_."

"Oh am I?" Slade chuckled as he closed the Libris Mortis and set it aside on the edge of a smoke stack, "You're not still sore about Terra are you?"

"Don't you say her name!" Beast Boy shouted, and his form roiled for a moment, rage barely contained, "You don't get to talk about her! Not after what you did to her!"

"Calm down, Gar." Jinx leveled a glare at Slade, "We'll beat you, Slade. You know we will."

"In the past, conversion was always my goal with the Titans. Now, you're simply an annoyance. Now, I can simply kill you." Slade chuckled as he stepped forward.

Beast Boy screamed, and his scream became a roar as he morphed into a lion and pounced on their enemy.

Slade just kicked him aside.

"Now that wasn't at all a worthy attack. Care to try your hand at it Jinx?"

Jinx narrowed her eyes, "Yeah, sure."

She charged in fast and low, her sword strike a sweep at his knees. He jumped, which was really the only way to avoid the attack, and she imidietly changed direction and brought the sword up to follow him.

His foot slammed into her face, and she felt her hands go numb as her nose broke.

Hitting the roof with a grunt and a splatter of blood, Jinx rolled over and tried to focus through the pain. Blood streamed down her face, and her vision was blurred. "Bastard..." she muttered though the gore on her face.

"Such language!" Slade reached down to pick up her sword, but a greet gorilla stepped on it, bending the blade. Looking up, the masked villain narrowed his one visible eye, "That was a mistake, Beast Boy."

The gorilla flipped end over end into a skylight, smashing through it and falling down to the floor of the office below them.

Slade turned his attention back to Jinx in time to block her first punch. He retaliated with an open handed strike to her chest, knocking her back. His follow up punch took a chunk out of a smoke stack as she ducked it and lashed out with her own clumsy punch...

Which connected solidly with his face, sending _him_ stumbling away.

Jinx just stared in shock for several seconds. He straightened up and she gaped at him. "I hit you." she said.

"Very good." Slade sounded sarcastic, "Care to try again?"

"I hit you... Robin can hardly ever hit you... but that weak punch did?" she narrowed her eyes, and took up a stance, "I see it now... the gap in your style... you can't defend like him..." she smiled an evil smile, "You're not Slade."

Slade narrowed his own eye, "Prove it." he replied, and took up a stance of his own.

* * *

Raven flew low over the zombie horde, slashing at their heads as she did. Every now and then a hand would reach out and snag her leg or torso, but the wounds they made were minor, and none of them managed to grab her. 

Up ahead, she could see several cars full of people that had been trying to flee the city. One was already smashed, and the other three were quickly on their way. Even as she flew up, the Cursed Dead smashed out the windows of one of them and started to viciously tear into the people inside of it.

"No!" she screamed and lashed out with her powers, forming them into blades of pure darkness that sliced the zombies into chunks of meat. Landing, she surrounded the three cars in black light and lifted them from the ground. Guiding them to the left, she deposited them on top of a low building, out of the zombie's reach.

Her concentration was so intense that she didn't notice the zombie behind her until it was tearing it's claw like hands down her back, ripping her cloak off and drawing long bloody tears in her skin. Screaming, she stumbled forward and into the waiting arms of another of the creatures. It bit down into her arm and tore a chunk of flesh out.

With another cry of pain, Raven lashed around herself with her powers, using them like bladed whips to hack apart the zombies. She threw both of her daggers at another, killing it as they buried to the hilts in it's head.

Flying up, she panted as her blood rained down from her arm and back. Glancing over at the roof where she'd deposited the cars, her heart stopped.

Cursed Dead were already on the roof, having come up through the hatch. She'd just dropped the people in the cars into a small nest of the things, and it was like handing them a buffet. The screams of the people in the cars reached her ears as she watched in horror.

It was over in a matter of seconds, and the zombies were simply feeding after that. The wet sounds of flesh tearing and organs slipping out of dead shells made her sick, and she threw up the food she's eaten earlier with Speedy.

"No..." she whispered in a weak voice. Looking around, she saw a sea of the undead. Death at every turn. Destruction washing over Jump City.

Furry built inside of her, and she welcomed Rage with open arms.

"Let's end this, Dad." she said in a low, deadly tone, and opened her second set of eyes, all four of them now glowing red. With a primal scream, she let loose with her powers, bringing Hell to Earth in the most literal sense.

* * *

Cyborg slugged a zombie out of his way as he charged through the front doors of Titan's Tower. Looking around the entry way, he saw that they were everywhere. 

"Damnit." he cursed, and aimed his sonic cannon.

At it's full power the sonic cannon packed enough punch to rupture flesh and break bone, which it did now quite well. Zombies literally blew apart as he advanced into the lower levels of his home.

"Hold on a little longer, Baby!" he shouted as his fist slammed another zombie's head into the wall, splattering it all over the place.

Stopping suddenly, he scanned the entry way and saw that none of the Cursed Dead were attacking him. They all seemed to be moving to the elevator...

They were going up. Sarah was up. If the power was down, she would have been smart enough to get as far from danger as possible. That meant the roof.

Growling, he started forward and grabbed the first zombie he came to. Ripping it's arm off, he flung it aside and continued forward. He'd just have to kill all of them on his way up to save his girlfriend.

* * *

Speedy glanced down at Red-X from where he was holding off the hordes of the undead, "You about done down there?" 

X was working quickly, "Almost. This boiler should blow in about... five minutes. We have that long to get as many as we can in here."

"Right." Speedy stepped forward and lobbed the head off of another zombie as it got close to him. The bodies around him were starting to pile up, but his arms were growing tiered.

"After this one goes," Red-X flew up out of the service chamber he had been working in under the tracks of the train station, "it'll start a chain reaction. This whole place will blow in a matter of seconds. We'll need to be long gone." he lashed out at a zombie on Speedy's left and took it's arm off with his wrist spike.

"Yeah." the red and black clad archer looked up at the glass ceiling, "That's gonna make a mess."

"No shit. No how do we get more in here? You said you had a plan..."

"We use bait."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Red-X sighed, "Alright, let's get to the exit."

* * *

Bruiser dropped Starfire to the ground, laughing as her limp form made a thump. Looking down at his hand, he frowned a little, and wiped the blood that covered it on his pant leg, "Little gurl made a mess on ma' hand." he said. 

"And now," Starfire said as she sat up and turned to face him, "I will make a mess of your hand it's self!" Eyes blazing green, she screamed and hurled a fully powered starbolt at the giant of a man.

Howling with pain and clutching at the stump of his wrist, Bruiser stumbled away. The bolt had seared the wound shut as soon as it had made it, so there was no blood, but Star knew it had to hurt like hell. She got to her feet, wiping blood from the numerous cuts that covered her face, and turned to face the other three guards that had been watching the fight.

Glancing at each other, they all shrugged and pointed SMG's at her.

As the opened up on her, Starfire blazed with green energy, incinerating their bullets as they neared her. She flew forward quickly and with a single punch each, took them all out. Turning back to Bruiser, she flew as fast as she could at him.

He grunted as she lifted him above her head and flew up into the night sky, "Hey! Lemme go!" he shouted, struggling to get away from the alien princess.

"If you insist." Star shrugged and hurled him with all her might at the water tower that sat in one corner of the compound. He hit the structure holding it up and then fell to the ground.

Sitting up and rubbing his head, he looked up just in time to see Star drop the whole top of the tower on him.

Dusting her hands off as she landed next to the pile of twisted mettle and broken wood, she nodded. Turning back to the factory, she wondered at Robin's progress. As police cruisers started pulling into the compound, she flew to meet them, intent on giving them all the information they needed before she went to help her boyfriend.

* * *

Jinx lashed out with her foot again, scoring a solid hit against the Slade look-alike's side. He grunted and fell to his left, rolling as he hit the roof top. 

"You're really quite good." he taunted her, "But not nearly good enough for me."

"Really?" she sneered at him, "I'd say we're pretty evenly matched."

"We would be," he said from his crouched position, "but I have this." and he lifted the staff from the roof top.

Jinx gasped as he pointed it at her and shouted out, "Grazzat, Keldeir, Arcanmorties!" A beam of black energy slammed into her and blasted her back to the edge of the roof. She could feel where the dark magic had permeated her right shoulder, and knew that it was eating away at her. The only way to get rid of it, was to use it.

"Talligrania!" she shouted out her own curse and hurled the energy back at him. It took on the form of several poisoned arrows, and the look-alike was forced to dodge them. Jinx grinned and stood up, throwing her own pink energy at him, trying to knock him down.

It wasn't until it was too late that she saw he was dodging towards her. He was too close for her too block it when his kick came, and he knocked her off the side of the roof with no trouble. She grit her teeth as her hand shot out and grabbed the edge.

"Still clinging to life?" he stood over her and raised one foot in the air, "Why don't you join he Cursed Dead below? I'm sure they'd be happy to have you for dinner." he laughed as he brought his foot down, and Jinx prepared to have every bone in her hand broken.

The blow never fell though, and she looked up to see the Slade clone being held aloft by a huge green beast of some sort. It was hulking, and looked like a werewolf crossed with a monkey. The green gave it away as Beast Boy, but she had no idea how he had become a creature that was so un-natural.

With a howl of furry, the Man Beast hurled the Slade clone a fair distance and then pounced on him. Beast Boy began to slam his fists into the clone's face and chest, smashing it further down into the roof with every blow.

He apparently still had some form of sanity left about him, because he became himself again after just seven punches. His uniform in tatters, he continued to punch the look alike repeatedly as he shouted at it, "I wont let you take her from me again! I love her, you hear me? I love her and you can't take her from me! Stone, and flesh, and blood, and you can't take Terra from me again!" tears were falling down his face as he continued to hammer at his enemy.

Jinx could hardly believe her ears. Was he calling _her_ Terra? Was she just... a stand in for the girl he _really _loved?

"Gar!" she shouted as she ran over, "Gar, he's down! You're going to kill him!"

Beast Boy, his bloody hand still raised over his head, dropped the clone back to the roof top. Reaching down, he yanked the mask off to reveal a bloodied face that was completely gray and featureless. Just two wide black eyes, a gash for a mouth, and a sunken hole where a nose should have been.

The face clicked with Jinx, "The Doppelganger. He was the one Brother Blood sold the Libris Mortis to. He used to teach stealth and disguise at the HIVE."

"So... he's not Slade?" Beast Boy stood up and backed away from the metehuman he'd almost killed.

"No, he's not Slade, but he still knew how to use the book and the staff." Jinx walked back to the smoke stack where the book lay, and picked it up. Flipping through it, she spoke over her shoulder to Beast Boy, "Call Raven."

"Why? Can't you-"

"I can't read Sanskrit." Jinx cut him off, "Call her."

"Hey, are you mad at me-"

"Yes."

"For what?" Beast Boy started forward, "Did I do something... I mean, I know I lost my head a little, but he's still alive, and-"

"And I'm not going to be a stand in for your petrified girlfriend." Jinx said coldly, "Call Raven. I lost my T-Comp while I was fighting that bastard."

Beast Boy looked stricken, but pulled out his communicator any way, "Beast Boy to Raven. We need you to break this spell."

* * *

Raven barely heard her T-Com. As the red glow faded from her eyes, she yanked it out. 

"Repeat that Beast Boy." she looked around at the street, noting that she'd ripped most of it up, and leveled a few buildings. The Cursed Dead were nothing more than smears of blood now though, so her rage hadn't been wasted.

"We need you over here. Slade wasn't Slade, and we took care of him, but we need you to end the spell."

"I'll be there in a-" she was cut off as the train station blew up.

Looking over at the fireball that was reaching for the sky, she spotted two figures running from the shockwave, only to be bowled over by it moments later.

"The hell was that?" came Beast Boy's frantic voice.

"Speedy and Red-X just blew up the train station. I'll be there shortly. Raven out."

Sighing, she flew down to the street to meet the boys.

* * *

"That," Red-X stated as he pulled himself out of a small pile of rubble, "sucked lots." 

"Agreed." Speedy sat a short distance away, inspecting a gash on his arm.

"Did you _have_ to blow up the train station?" Raven asked them as she descended from the sky.

"It took out a whole bunch of the fuckers, trust me." X stood up, "Where are we needed now?"

"Head back to the Tower. I'm going to go end this."

"If you're going to fight Slade-" as Speedy stood up, she placed a finger on his lips.

"It wasn't Slade. Jinx and Beast Boy took care of it, and I'm going to go cast the counter spell. Go back to the Tower, and make sure Cyborg and Sarah are still alive."

Speedy sighed and nodded, "On our way."

"Good." Raven took flight again, "I'll see you there soon." and she flew off.

"Dude." Red-X plodded up next to Speedy, "You realize we both got our asses kicked by some dude that wasn't even the real Slade?"

"Don't remind me." Speedy shook his head and glanced at the gash in his arm once more, "Let's go."

* * *

Robin peeked around the forklift he'd taken cover behind to avoid the bottle rocket bombardment, and scanned the room for the Joker. 

He spotted him just in time to duck as the Clown opened up on him with a tommy gun.

"Christ!" he shouted as he huddled down. With .50 caliber bullets flying over his head, he had no way of getting out. Yanking out a flash bomb, he slid it across the floor, under the forklift, and right to the ground in front of the Joker.

"Huh?" The mad man looked down in time for it to blow, and he stumbled back as the bright flash blinded him temporarily.

Robin dashed around the forklift and charged in with a battle cry. The Joker blinked his eyes rapidly and his vision cleared in time for him to see Robin's fist flying at his face.

As the clown tumbled back over a crate, his gun went flying. Robin pressed the attack, slamming a fist into the Joker's side, then kicking him several yards away. He landed half bent over another crate, and Robin stalked over quickly.

"You should have stuck to the traps, Joker. Now you're going down."

"Wrong again, Boy Blunder!" the Joker whirled around, and smashed Robin across the side of the head with a crow bar, blasting him off his feet. Stepping forward, he raised the bar above his head, "Too bad you have to die. It'll be a real drag with just Batman to chase me around now!"

His blow never fell though, because just as he was about to smash Robin's head in, Tim flew out of the shadows and shoulder blocked the clown away from the young hero.

The crow bar flew from the Joker's hands, and he stumbled back. Looking slightly suprised, he laughed a little, "Tommy! Why'd you go and hit your old Uncle Jay like that?"

"My name is Tim, you crazy fucktwit." Tim growled out, and hurled a tangler granade at the Joker, point blank. It exploded into a mass of sticky pink goo, and wrapped around him, forming a strong adhesive straight jacket.

"Ooo!" the Joker laughed like crazy, "A Bat Toy! You're with them!" he laughed again, and danced away, over to a computer that was set up on the far side of the room. Tim tried to head him off, but the Joker twirled and lashed out with his foot, catching the young man under his chin, and sending him reeling into a stack of crates, bringing them down on top of him.

The Joker leaned forward and slammed his head into a large red button next to the computer. The screen came on, and it started flashing numbers, counting down from thirty. Laughing like a maniac, he dashed for the back exit, and was gone in a matter of seconds.

Robin sat up, rubbing the side of his head. Pulling his hand back, he saw that it came away red, "Two times in as many nights that I've had that happen." he muttered, and looked around for the Joker.

When his eyes fell on the computer screen, they widened.

A quick change in the view settings of his mask and he was looking around the room for electromagnetic pulses. Counting easily twenty, he estimated that there wouldn't be much more than a crater when all the bombs went off.

Noting that he only had twenty seconds left, he started running for the large dock doors that opened out into the main grounds of the factory. He saw the lights of the police cars, and several officers running towards him.

"No!" he shouted, waving them back, "This whole place is wired! Hunt cover!"

Starfire was there suddenly and she started pulling officers back, "We must get back!" she shouted, "Robin says there is a bomb!"

"Robin..." a weak voice came from inside the warehouse. Whirling around, Robin saw that Tim was just pulling himself out of a stack of crates, "Robin... help me..." Blood painted the side of his face, and he looked dazed.

"Tim!" Robin shouted, and without thinking about what he was doing, ran back into the warehouse.

"Robin?" Starfire called after him, "Robin, no!"

The Boy Wonder dove for Tim, and wrapped his cape around both of them.

The computer counted down from one to zero.

The warehouse erupted into an explosion of such magnitude that every building in a half mile radius had it's windows blow out.

* * *

The zombies had been coming through the roof hatch fairly steadily for the past ten minutes or so, and Sarah was really getting proud of how her aim was improving. As another one came up, she blew it's head off. 

Seeing that she was out of ammo again, she quickly ejected the clip and reloaded. Looking back up, she saw that one of the Cursed Dead was almost on top of her.

"Damnit!" she screamed and fired four times, blowing it away from her. They were invading the roof top now, and she didn't know how fast she'd be able to reload when this clip ran out...

"Stay away!" she screamed and fired again, hitting one in the shoulder. They advanced on her, and she began to pump off shots. Backing away, she found herself at the edge of the roof. "Oh no... no... no..." she fell to her knees and held her head in her hands, "NO!" she screamed as she felt the hot breath of a zombie just above her neck.

Then there was a thud and the presence of the zombie was gone. Another thud and a voice that she sobbed when she heard, "Get the hell away from my girlfriend you dead sons of bitches!" She looked up to see Cyborg hurl the last of the zombies off the Tower, then turn to her. "You okay, Baby?"

Sarah burst into tears and hurled herself into his arms. He held her tightly and sat down of the roof top, "Shhh... it's okay now, hun. I got all of 'em."

"What about the others?" she asked.

As Cy opened his mouth to tell her he didn't know, a black ring of energy erupted from the city, spreading out in all directions. He used his cybernetic eye to zoom to the shore, and saw that the Cursed Dead were falling to the ground, just plain dead once more.

"Looks like it's over." he lifted his arm and sent out a city wide call, "Titans, check in."

"Beast Boy, Raven, and Jinx, all alive and well." came Beast Boy's voice.

"Speedy and Red-X, beaten and bloody, but still breathing."

"And Sarah and I are okay too." Cyborg sighed, "Congrats, team, we made it."

"Everyone back to the Tower." Raven's voice came over the com, "We need to regroup and patch our selves up, then we can contact the city about how to help with the clean up."

* * *

Raven shut her T-Comp and turned back to Jinx, "I'll see you two back at the Tower, okay? Bring the book and the staff." 

"Actually," Jinx sent a cold glare over to Beast Boy, who looked away, "I'd rather go with you, if you don't mind."

Raven looked back and forth between them for a moment, then sighed, "I don't know what the two of you are fighting over, but yes, I do mind." she motioned to her arm, "I'm injured Jinx. I can't carry you."

"Oh." Jinx shook her head, "I'll walk then."

"No, just go with Beast-"

"I'll walk." Jinx cut her off. Picking up the staff and the book, she walked to the roof hatch and down into the building.

Raven turned and glared at Beast Boy, "What did you do?"

"Nothing! I just... got a little carried away..."

"What," she growled out, "did you do, Gar Logan?"

"I... kinda forgot that she wasn't Terra... and I went off on the Doppelganger about it... how he killed Terra... except he didn't and now... now I think I've lost Jinx too." he sighed and turned away, "Let's just get back home."

Raven sighed and nodded. Lifting off the building, she watched at he became a sparrow, and followed her.

* * *

Starfire pulled herself from the windshield of the police cruiser she'd been thrown into by the blast and looked in horror at the smoldering remains of the warehouse. 

"ROBIN!" she screamed, and flew forward into the flames.

* * *

The Joker dashed down the ally way between two other factories not far away. Laughing his head off, he sang a little song. 

"Two Bat Kids Dead! I bashed in this one's head! He tripped and fell and I blew him up! His blood was so bright red!" the final word was high pitched and he held it until a dark fist flew out of the shadows and rendered him uncouncious in one blow.

Batman stepped from the darkness and looked towards the fire and smoke that was filling the night sky a half mile away with narrowed eyes, "Dick..." he muttered, "Don't be dead."

* * *

When he arrived on the scene, the first thing he saw was Starfire, sitting in the back of an ambulance, and being treated for several burns. Waiting in the shadows until they released her, he watched as she walked about in a daze, not quite sure what to do with herself. 

"Kori." he said as she walked past the shadows where he was hidden.

She turned and looked at him, seeing him now that she knew where he was. She took two steps forward, and fell. Rushing up, he caught her, and held her against his chest.

"Starfire, I caught the Joker a half mile from here. He was singing a song... about Robin being..."

She burst into tears, and he knew then. The weight of the news slammed down into him like a ton of bricks and he fell to the ground with her, wrapping his cape around both of them.

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time they removed all the bodies from the Tower. It was unanimously decided that they would spend the next day cleaning up the blood and gore, and even Red-X volunteered to pitch in and help. 

Beast Boy stared out the window of the living room, which had remained remarkably untouched. Jinx hadn't returned to the Tower yet, and he was starting to worry.

"She'll be back." Raven said as she stepped up next to him, "She wont just leave us because you're a bastard."

"Thanks, Rae. You're really helping here." he glared at her.

Raven shrugged and was about to say something when the main screen popped open and took up most of the windows in the front of the living room. She walked over to the control station and opened the com link that was coming in.

"Connected Watch Tower. This is Titan Tower West."

"Raven." the man on the screen was the Green Lantern. He wore a stern look, and she sensed anger boiling beneath his surface calm.

"Hello, Lantern. When can we expect clean up aid?"

"You can't." he replied with a degree of finality that told her something was very wrong.

"What? What are you talking about? We can't clean up a city full of dead bodies by ourselves! The Jump City officials can't handle this load! We need the League!"

"The League will be there. You wont."

"What?" Beast Boy stepped up next to her, and the rest of the Titans started to come in from the kitchen to see what was happening.

"We've just confirmed final numbers from your little adventure tonight, and-"

"Little?" Speedy's mouth dropped, "Sir, we all almost _died_ out there!"

"Indeed. But you're still alive. The_eight thousand _casualties of this fiasco weren't so lucky!" he shouted, "Over a _billion_ dollars in property damage! More than half of the JCPD is dead, and the city isn't estimated to be back on it's feet for six _years_!"

"We were working with almost nothing!" Raven shouted back, "Where were you, huh? Where was the JLA when we needed you?"

"We dispatched several members, who worked damage control and round up. We hadn't found a way to bring those people back, and we wanted to be sure they were all contained."

"You can't bring the Cursed Dead back!" Raven shouted, "If you'd consulted me, than we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now-"

"Enough!" he roared at her, and she shut her mouth, "I'm sorry, Raven, but without your leader and with this fiasco on our hands, the JLA can't fund you any longer. You kids tried your best, but you're just too young, and too inexperienced for large scale attacks like this."

"What are you saying exactly?" Cyborg asked as he stepped forward.

"I'm saying that the Justice League is pulling it's funding of the Teen Titans. You'll recive severance packages to help get you set up in civilian life, but we don't think you should be doing hero work any more. Maybe when you're older, but right now, maybe you should all think about going to collage for a few years or something."

"You can't be serious." Beast Boy shook his head, "Dude, I'm green. I'm a freak out there."

"You'll learn to deal with it." Green Lantern shook his head once more, "I'm sorry kids, but that's it."

"What did you mean when you said we were without our leader?" Raven asked, a note of fear creeping into her voice.

Lantern stared at her for a moment, then looked down at his control panel, "I'll let Batman explain. Watch Tower out."

The screen changed suddenly, and they were looking at the tear streaked, slightly burned face of Starfire.

"Friends... I am afraid that I call... with most distressing news... Robin..." she trailed off and looked out at all of them hopelessly, "Robin..."

"Star... what about Robin?" Raven asked seriously.

The alien girl broke down and started to sob uncontrollably. A hand on her shoulder guided her away from the screen, and a moment later, they were looking at Batman. He wore a look of quiet, cold furry, and every last one of the Titans took a step back involuntarily.

"Titans... I just recived word from the JLA... you're being disbanded."

"We know." Raven said, fear lacing her voice, "Robin...?"

"The Joker... killed him." Batman said, a slight hitch to his voice. It was gone as soon as it had come, and he looked just as calm and deadly as ever, "I'm... sorry. I know he was a good friend to all of you." shaking his head, Batman looked around at them, "The details of your discharge will come tomorrow. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep, and read through the notes then. Batman out."

The screen went dead, and the team stood in silence for several minutes.

"So..." Red-X, his mask removed, looked around at the Titans, "That's it? Just like that?"

"That's it." Raven replied bitterly, "We beat back the zombies, and we saved the city, but we still lost." she shook her head, "The Teen Titans are dead."

* * *

Closing Notes: Wait for it. It all makes sense later. Trust me on this one, kids. 

Reviewers get cookies!

Arezal - Looks like Tim's little run in with the Joker left him more than scared for life, huh? But you have to be able to see this plot line coming from a mile off, so shhh... don't tell anyone, kay?

seattleitegirl - You got everything you wanted in this chapter except Beast Boy's new name, which makes it's appearence in the next story. Tim's description was in my opening notes if you didn't read 'em, and I hope to hear from you on this chapter as well!

Nano - It wasn't the quickest update, but better than I've done in the past. Robin died. See? I said a long time ago that I would kill him, and I did. Heh.

Heaven's Angel -Yeah man, what was up with that? I think the website's e-mail alearts were down the day I posted chapter 10, so people just didn't know it was there. I expect more reviews for this one. Married? Sounds like fun. Wish I could get married some time soon, but I can't afford it right now. :) Oh well, we're happy.

goldfish demon -Tim _is_ cool, or really, really hot as the case may be now. Look for more Timmy goodness in upcoming stories.

Whocares? - Superbeast wolf thing, check. Robin slicing up zombies? Not so check. He got blowed up. Sorry. :)

Grace - Actually, the whole Slade returning thing is a TT fanfic cliche if there ever was one, but I worked around that too, because my Slade wasn't really Slade. Make sense? Yah? Good. Review again!

StarryRavenFire - Good to go with your gut I guess. Robin did indeed get the big sleep. Then again, so did Tim, so I guess you were only half right. Anyway, thanks for the MONSTER of a review, and I hope to hear from you again soon!

robinstar - You know you wouldn't even read these stories if I didn't throw in the cliff hangers. :) Sorry about not killing off Cyborg. I figure he's the last one to ever die. He has the most endurence after all. Maybe I'll write a Cyborg death story just for you... that's a messed up idea... how would the team deal with that? Hmmm...

Firpi - I wanted to really convay the feeling that these 17-19 year old kids were the only thing standing between the city and destruction. I wanteda war of epic proportions. I wanted them to have to really blow people apart. Gallons and gallons of blood seemed like the best way to convay that. You don't really see many TT stories with just tons of gore in them. I just wrote two chapters full of it. :) This one was shorter by about 4,000 words, so your eyes shouldn't hurt so bad this time.

ChaosChampion - Jinx still has an important part to play, so sorry, she stays alive. As for the LJ... sorry about not getting to it, but I've been really busy, and I figured writing the stories is more important than writing _about_ them. I'll attempt to get to it more this time. Semester ends ina week, thank God.

BeautyOfTheRose - The Joker got his, but not before Robin bit it big time.And poor Jinx... she has some rough times ahead for her, as her unlucky streak continues. Now hit that review button!

Thanks for the lot of you that reviewed, even though the e-mail update didn't go out. Hope to hear from all of you again soon, and I'll point out that I also just updated Falling Up, so read and review that one too! Thanks!

* * *

Next Chapter: The Titans prepare to move on as they leave the Tower, one by one. Jinx does something stupid, Red-X helps Cyborg, and Speedy quits Titans East. 

In Gotham, Starfire finds herself at loose ends. Without the Titans,andwithout Robin, nothing ties her to the Earth. As she prepares to leave for home, Babs comes to her with a very interesting offer...

Nexttime: Epilog.


	12. Epilog

Jump City Cantata

A Teen Titans Fanfiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes: This was hard to write. Not just because I was trying to keep it under 10,000 words (I did) but also because there was so much emotion to portray. I left a lot of it open to the interpretation of the reader, because I felt that if I tried to describe what they the characters were feeling _too_ much, then they would come across as being too emotionally narrow. There's just way too much going on in all of their heads as they try to cope with the loss of Robin, the disbanding of the Titans, and the other major surprises in this chapter, that they can't feel it all at once. So if it seems like no one is grieving for Robin, or people are just taking new shocking events into stride, it's just because they're on emotional over load right now. It'll all be taken care of later... in the next story.

* * *

_**Epilog**_

* * *

**__**

Jinx sat on a pile of rubble, her head in her hands. With a sigh, she looked over at the book sitting next to her, the Libris Mortis, and the staff made up of the Four Worthy Objects next to it. Both artifacts of purest evil, and she was just toting them around town like they were a phone book and a walking stick.

Sighing again, she looked up at the night sky, noticing for the first time how clear it was. No clouds, but no stars either. The city lights were still too bright, even after half the power in the city was cut off, and the other half set on fire.

"Feels right though." she mumbled up to the sky, "Open and free... but still so dark and empty inside." She shifted her gaze back down to the rubble at her feet and growled out, "Gar, you idiot. I know you still like me, but... you love her." As her shoulders slumped she picked up the book and flipped it open.

Her eyes skimmed over the page (not all of it was written in Sanskrit) and she suddenly sat up straight. Leaning forward, she inspected the spell once more and then looked over at the staff.

"No way..." she breathed, "I could..."

Before she could change her mind, Jinx grabbed the staff and took off for the park in the center of the city.

* * *

Titan Tower was asleep. One of the last nights the Teen Titans would spend there. Beast Boy tossed and turned in his bed, nightmares of flesh eating zombies and blond haired loves haunting him. Speedy slept fitfully, still and quiet in the darkness of Raven's room, having trained himself long ago to _sleep_ when he went to sleep, with no dreams. Sarah slept in Robin's bed again, Silke curled up next to her, but she was also plagued by horrible dreams of zombies and blood.

Cyborg sat in front of a computer terminal, flashing through screens upon screens of blue prints. Sitting back, he rubbed his human eye and sighed.

"This is getting me nowhere." he muttered.

"What'cha doin?"

Cy started before he realized it was just Red-X, his mask and uniform taken off, walking into the living room.

"Just going over my prints... if I can't live here, then I have to find a new way to keep myself powered. I can't just plug in and recharge at Sarah's place... the electric bill would be _huge_."

"Well," Brian sat down next to him, straddling the back of a chair, "I'm no genius, but I've had to learn a little about how a power cell works to be able to do maintenance and repairs on my suit. Maybe I could help a little?"

"Naw, you should get some rest. You took some hits out there today, and I know you have to be tiered."

"I'm insomniac." he shrugged, "Come on, give me something to do."

"Alright." Cy relented and pulled up his plans on the monitor in front of the thief, "That's it. You come up with any brilliant ideas, go ahead and tell me."

"Will do." Brian started inspecting the prints, clicking through them slower than Cy was, but still at a steady pace.

* * *

Raven wasn't in the Tower. After the news of their disbandment had come, she had gone to her room, changed into civilian clothing, and left. Now she wandered the streets, taking in the horror of the small war that had just happened hours before.

So many were dead, and thousands more were seriously injured. Families torn apart, lives destroyed, businesses wrecked... the list went on and on. Jump City had suffered worse than she had ever imagined it could while they were protecting it.

"I failed..." she whispered to the night and the fire, "I failed... so badly."

* * *

Starfire lay in the bed she and Robin had shared just the night before, and stared at the ceiling. She had run out of tears long ago, and now simply replayed that one horrible moment over and over in her mind. Robin running back, then fire and force and then there was nothing left.

She had searched the warehouse thoroughly, suffering minor burns in the process. He was just gone. He and Tim both. She had no idea how she was going to explain to Tim's father what had happened, or how she was going to be able to go on without...

"Richard..." she whispered into the darkness, and another tear fell down her cheek.

There came a knock at her door, and she sat bolt upright. Calming herself after a moment, she called out in a weak voice, "Who is it?"

The door opened a little, and a red head of hair peeked in, "It's me, Kori... Babs."

"Babs!" Star stood up from the bed and walked over to the door, opening it fully and taking in the sight of her friend, sitting in a wheel chair, dressed in jeans and a simple sweater, "What are you doing out of the hospital?"

"Bruce came... he... told me." she looked like she was fighting tears, "I checked myself out, and called Alfred. He brought me here."

"But... you should be in the hospital! You should not have come here just to see me-"

"I just..." Babs cut her off, then paused, unsure of how to continue, "I just wanted to be with someone I know loves him like I do."

Star's heart melted, and she quickly pushed Babs into the room. Shutting the door, she walked over to the bed and lifted the other girl easily into it, "We shall spend the night here then." Star nodded, fresh tears filling her eyes, "It is customary on my planet to spend the night after a soldiers death with the friends of the warrior, and those that served with him, proclaiming his deeds, and exulting his virtue and bravery. We shall do so now."

"That sounds... really good..." Babs smiled weakly and poked Star in the shoulder as her friend crawled onto the bed next to her, "You start."

* * *

Jinx slowed to a stop in the center of the memorial park in the center of Jump City. Leaning forward and breathing hard, she took a moment to catch her breath. Looking back up at the statue in the center of a wide, stone clearing, she frowned.

"It's you he still cares for..." she said, walking over to where Terra stood petrified, cold and unmoving, "It's you he still wants."

Pulling the Libris Mortis up and flipping open to the page she had read before, she stared deep into the stone eyes of the statue, "It'll be your choice..." she said, and lifted the staff as well, _"Petrifictius, Garontholos, Rezigotian!"_

* * *

Light and sound. The first she'd seen or heard in a while. Was that... someone calling her name?

_Terra!_

"Who's there?" she called back.

_A friend._

"What's going on? I was fighting Slade, and I opened that volcano, and-"

_You died._

Terra stopped. No, that couldn't be right, "If I'm dead, then how are you talking to me?"

_I can bring you back._

"So you can talk to dead people, and bring them back to life? Sounds a little too good to be true."

There was a long pause, _It is._

"I knew it." Terra smirked, "You can't _really_ bring me back, can you?"

_Yes, but... it's not free._

"What's that mean?"

_A... sacrifice is required._

"What is it that I have to give up?"

_Nothing... it's what I have to give up._

"So... you're going to bring me back, loose something that you sound like you _really_ don't want to loose, and I don't owe you a thing?" Terra scoffed, "Right. Who the hell are you?"

_I'm a friend... a Titan._

"Raven? That doesn't sound like your voice..."

_Not Raven... a new Titan._

"And just why the hell are you making this huge sacrifice for me? I've obviously never met you, and the Titans wouldn't let a new member give up something big just so they could get back a girl that betrayed and almost destroyed them."

_They don't know I'm here._

"That explains a few things. Why do you want me back? Why not just leave me dead and gone?" her voice grew quiet, "Like I deserve..."

_... I love someone. Someone... who I think loves you. I'm bringing you back, so he can be happy again._

Terra's reply was almost a whisper, "Beast Boy?"

_We call him Gar now._

"His real name. He finally get sick of being Beast Boy?"

_Do you want me to do this or not?_

Terra thought for a moment. Did she deserve it? She'd betrayed them. She's turned on her only real friends, and given them to Slade, then tried to kill them. Did her sacrifice really mean that much to them? That they would forgive her?

Only one way to find out, "Yes. Let's do it."

_Alright then. Welcome back._

* * *

Jinx pulled back from the mental conversation and watched in fascination as the stone started to crumble away from Terra's body. White light started emanating from her, and then there was an explosion.

The pink haired girl was flung away by the blast, covering her face with one arm to avoid the rock shards flying every where. As the dust settled, she sat up and looked over to where a tall blond girl was trying to pick herself up out of the rubble. She was coughing horribly, and for a moment, Jinx thought the spell had gone wrong.

Rushing over, she helped Terra up. "What..." the blond coughed again, "What the hell did that spell do to me? I feel like I've had my guts torn out..."

Jinx inspected her. She _looked_ fine. Just a bit older than the statue had been. Older...

"The spell took some of your life force. You're older." she went back to her book and started flipping pages.

"What kind of spell takes a part of your life force?" Terra coughed again and rose to one knee, "And you look really familiar..." Terra scratched her head.

"Well this isn't exactly White Magic I'm working with here! It's actually about as Black as it comes! And my name is Jinx. Maybe you've heard of me?"

"When the hell did you turn Titan? I thought you were with the HIVE!"

"I quit the HIVE almost a year ago. I became a Titan last week." Jinx found what she was looking for and pointed at it, "Ah ha!"

Terra looked over her shoulder, "I can't read that."

"It's Greek. It says that if the Dark Powers are called upon to return the body of one so petrified to it's natural state, they will exact their toll in the form of the subjects life force, taking five years from them, and from the caster's soul, taking away..."

Terra gawked at her, "You just took away five years of my life? And what did you loose?"

Jinx looked up with red rimmed eyes and a weak smile, "Five years isn't so bad... you're just a little over what you would have been anyway."

"Wait... how long was I gone?"

"Two years. You're seventeen now. Only, in the body of a twenty year old."

"Really?" Terra looked down at herself, and noticed her slightly more developed body, "Man, I _still_ haven't got boobs."

"I know the feeling." Jinx looked around, and picked up the staff and the book, "Look, I'd love to fill you in on everything, but we just got done saving the city from an army of zombies, and the place is kind of a mess right now." she looked Terra up and down, "Slade Approval rating is kind of at an all time low right now too, so we might have to get you different threads."

Terra looked down at her mettle uniform and scowled. Reaching up, she ripped the 'S' insignia off of it and hurled it at the ground. Looking back up at Jinx, she smiled, "Where are we shopping?"

* * *

"Dude, I don't know about you, but I think we might have to completely redesign your power core." Brian flipped to another print and sighed, "I can't see anyway short of cold fusion to power all of your systems."

"I know... there's nothing small enough though... it'd have to fit in the same space. I don't exactly have too much room to grow."

Brian rubbed his chin, and thought for a moment, then looked at the robotic Titan sideways, "What about Zynothium?"

"What?" Cy glanced at him like he was crazy, "Your suit might run on that stuff just fine, but my power cell is-"

"Obsolete." Brian shook his head, "We need something that will allow you to keep functioning for years at a time, Cy. I know it's kind of unstable, but the system Robin designed works really well. It could work, as long as you don't take any tank shells to the chest..."

"It's expensive though. I can't afford to go picking up another..." he did some quick calculations in his head, "four ounces of Zynothium every year."

"So get it like I do!" he smiled that Red-X smile of his and shrugged.

"I'm not going to steal it either."

"I only steal it from the bad guys you know."

"Who steal it from the good guys."

"Who shouldn't be refining weapons grade Zynothium in the first place."

Cyborg looked at him hard, "You know... you're making it really hard to say no to this."

"That's because I'm so right about it. You want me to go get my suit so you can check out the core?"

"Yeah." Cy nodded, "Yeah, let's look at it."

* * *

The window of an electronics store smashed in as two thugs tossed a trash can through it. The glass tinkled down to the ground and the they looked at each other with huge grins.

"This is easy money." one of them said as he started to climb through the broken window.

"Yeah, it's like Christmas came early!" the other replied.

"You guys need a hobby." said a brooding sarcastic voice from behind them.

They never even got a chance to turn around before the dark energy slipped around them and hurled them back into the front of the bridal shop across the street. Groaning, they both stood up and located the source of the power.

Raven, dressed in blue jeans and a dark blue, short sleeved top, stood in the middle of the street, her eyes glowing with sinister black energy and her hands held out in front of her, ready to strike again.

"See if you can handle this!" one of the thugs yelled and they both pulled out hand guns.

They found themselves hanging upside down, unable to move, and staring at Raven, who yawned, "After taking out an army of zombies, you guys are cake."

"Stop right there!" came a shout from behind her, and Raven turned to see two cops walking up, "Put those men down and clear out of here, Titan!"

"Excuse me?" Raven turned around fully and stared at them, the two looters still suspended in the air behind her.

"You heard me!" the cop shouted as he came within ten feet of her, "Jump City doesn't need help from a bunch of teenage punks that wreck half the place before leaving thousands of bodies in the streets!"

Raven's mouth fell open as she listened to the man rant. The JLA being mad at them for not reacting fast enough, or well enough she could understand, but this man probably owed his life to the Titans for what they had done.

"We _saved_ the city!" Raven shouted back, "Yes, there was extensive damage, and yes, many, many people died, but over a hundred thousand are still alive because of what we did! And you're telling me you don't want us to help any more?"

"That's right!" he was getting red in the face now, "If the Justice League had been here-"

"Because they did such a great job of showing up! When are you people going to learn that Superman can't fix everything?"

"We've already had confirmation that the Titans are being disbanded!" the other cop finally spoke up, much more calm than his partner, "Put those men down, and leave. You're not needed here any longer."

Raven glared at the cops for a few more seconds, then whirled around, "Fine! You want them down?" she righted the men, set them down on the ground, and released them, "There! Have fun!"

The two thugs looked at each other, saw that they had their guns out and the cops didn't then looked back at the cops.

Raven ignored the sounds of gun fire as she walked away. She didn't look back to see if the cops were still alive. She didn't pay attention to the screams and cries of pain.

Tears streamed down her face as she realized that even though she was angry, and even though she knew they didn't want her help, she couldn't not care.

* * *

"So then what?" Babs asked as she leaned forward.

"Then he just said, 'We fight anyway,' and we did. That was the kind of man he was... able to keep fighting against impossible odds, and able to make everyone around him want to help. He would never give up."

"I know where he gets that from..." the human girl shook her head, "Bruce has always been... intense..."

"I am going to miss him... very much." Starfire shook her head and yawned, "Now that the Titans are being disbanded, and Richard is... gone... I feel empty."

"Maybe you should take some time... rediscover yourself. We can morn Dick all we want to, but... he wouldn't want us to stay sad about it forever. He made a lot of difference in his life. Saved a lot of lives... he'd want us to honor that memory."

"I know." Star smiled weakly and lay down on the bed, "I think... I will look into contacting my home planet... perhaps I should go home for a while."

Babs didn't look very happy, "If it's what you want Kori." she lay down as well, "Sleepy time huh?"

"Yes... thank you for being here with me Babs... you are a true friend."

"Any time Star... any time."

* * *

Jinx was bent over at the waist, tears streaming down her face as she held her nose in her hands. She growled in pain and frustration, and gave a quick jerk of her hands just as Terra stepped out from behind a rack of clothes.

With a loud _snap_ she put the bones and cartilage in her nose back in place.

"Okay, that was nasty." Terra walked over and helped Jinx to stand up straight. Blood poured down the pink haired girls face, and she quickly grabbed a shirt off a nearby rack to stop the flow.

"Sucked..." Jinx replied. They had broken into an abandoned clothing store on their way back to the tower to get Terra some different clothes, and as she had picked out an outfit and changed, Jinx had been patching herself up. Her nose was just the last of the field work she could do. The medical lab at the Tower was calling her name.

"You ready then?" she asked.

Terra looked down at her baggy khaki's with cargo pockets, and her mid-drift exposing black top. Black boots on her feet, and her long blond hair swept back from her face, and she looked fairly sexy for just having been un-petrified.

"Yep. I'm good."

"Then let's get out of here." Jinx reached down and picked up the staff and the book, and started for the door, Terra in tow. When they were back out on the street and on their way to the Tower, Terra spoke again,

"So... you and BB, huh?"

"Not so much... we had a thing, I guess, and we did have sex once, but-"

"You slept with him?" Terra gaped at her.

Jinx rolled her eyes, reminding herself that Terra still thought like a fifteen year old girl, "Yeah. Him and Raven."

"Raven's gay?"

"Raven's bisexual. And she's dating Speedy now anyway."

"Oh... um... okay."

"Any other questions?"

Terra was quiet for a moment, then in a much softer voice, she asked, "Why'd you bring me back if you like Beast Boy?"

Jinx sighed, "It's not important. Safe to say that he said some stuff today that gave me the impression he was still in love with you. When I found the spell to bring you back, I jumped at the opportunity."

"But... he has to have moved on by now... I mean, I'd like to think that he misses me, but I don't know about love... I cared for him a lot, but... we were only fifteen, and... damn it all, this is too confusing."

After a few minutes of silence, Jinx motioned up ahead with the staff. Titan tower stood tall and dark against the night sky, "Almost there."

"I'm scared." Terra looked nervous.

"Why?"

"I... hurt them pretty bad. I betrayed their trust, tried to kill them... I don't deserve a second chance."

"But they'll give you one anyway... you know they will."

"What about you?"

"I've done my fair share of horrible things in my time. Fighting off one army of zombies doesn't make up for it all." Jinx shook her head.

"Do you think... BB will be happy to see me?"

"I think he'll flip out. I just don't... know if he'll want to keep seeing me, or if he'll just fall back to you."

"I hope he keeps seeing you... you deserve it."

"But he deserves to be happy... and if that's with you, then that's with you."

"But you're the one that made the sacrifice for me."  
"Let's just let him decide on his own." Jinx said with a weary smile, "Come on."

As they started to cross the bridge to the island, and Jinx walked ahead of her a little ways, Terra suddenly realized that Jinx had never told her exactly what it was she had given up.

* * *

It was dark downtown.

It wasn't usually, but tonight the only light came from the flickering flames in the street where cars had been over turned and blown up.

Here, at the epicenter of the zombie attack, there was only one survivor.

Her parents were gone, and after she had come out of her hiding spot, she'd just stood and stared up at the dark buildings and broken cityscape. Rubble littered the streets, and the clean up crews were slow in getting to this part of the destruction. Bodies lay all over.

Her dry eyes scanned the area, searching the dead for the bodies of her parents. They couldn't have survived. It just wasn't possible. Even at just twelve years old she was smart enough to know that if one of the explosions hadn't killed them, the raging army of the living dead probably had.

As she stepped past the last of the bodies in the immediate area, she came to a place where the zombies hadn't fallen, but had been blow apart and hacked to bits. It looked like a war zone.

The sound of foot steps behind her made her whirl about with wide eyes. Had one of the zombies survived? Was she going to die now too?

What she saw instead of a zombie though was a young woman wearing dark jeans and a blue shirt, stepping around some rubble. She had shoulder length hair, straight, and purple in color. A blood red jewel adorned her forehead, and she moved with an other-worldly grace.

As the young girl watched, the older one stepped up to her and knelt down so they were eye to eye, "Hello." the young woman said.

"H-hello." the girl replied.

"My name is Raven. What's yours?"

"... Kylee."

"That," Raven said with a slight smile, "is a pretty name. Where are your parents, Kylee?"

"I think... I think they're dead."

Raven closed her eyes and swallowed hard, "I'm... so, so sorry..."

"Why? It's not your fault." Kylee's voice was flat and dead.

"I still feel responsible. I... feel like I could have done more to stop it."

"Where are your parents?" Kylee took a step forward and touched Raven's shoulder.

Raven looked down at the girls small hand and then back to her eyes, "My Mother died... a long time ago. My Father... well, he's never really been too much of a parent."

"So neither of us have families anymore." Kylee shook her head, and for the first time, tears started to form in her eyes, "That's... very sad."

"But we have each other." Raven reached out and wrapped her arms around the child, feeling the great sadness that was emanating from her, "How would you like to come back to my home? We can try to find whoever your legal guardian is going to be in the morning."

"I don't have one." Kylee said, tears running down her face, "My parents were always worried... they said if they were gone, I'd become a ward of the state."

"Don't worry about that, then." Raven hugged her tighter, "I'll take care of you."

"Why?"

"Because... I feel like I should give something back after taking so much away."

"But it wasn't your fault."

"It was more than you know."

"The Titans did what they could, Raven."

Raven sat back and looked at the little girl with shock on her face. Kylee smiled a little, "What? I'm not allowed to know who the super heroes are who defend my home town?"

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" Raven arched an eyebrow.

"My teachers always say so." Kylee shrugged.

"Let's head to Titan Tower. We'll be moving soon, but I'm sure you can stay with me. I know people."

"Okay." Kylee nodded, and they set off, hand in hand, back to the Tower.

* * *

Leslie Thompkins opened the door to her free medical clinic at exactly 5:30 A.M., just as she did every day. Flipping on the lights in the waiting room, she walked briskly to her office and dropped off her purse.

Making her rounds of the clinic, she checked to be sure everything was in order for when she would open up at 6:00. Coming to the last room in the gun shot wounds ward, she opened the door to check on the supplies there.

Before she could flip on the light, a voice rasped from the darkness, "Dr. Thompkins..."

She looked over with wide eyes and gasped, "Is that... Ti-"

"Please... Leslie... we need your help."

* * *

"It could work." Cyborg nodded his head, "I think we could build this in a day or two."

"I'll have to see about getting some Zynothium, for you then." Red-X nodded as well, "I'll head out today and make some inquiries."

Sarah, who had joined them just a half hour before shook her head, "Do you have to steal to function, Cy?"

"It's starting to look that way. I don't think I have much of a choice here."

She was silent for several moments before she looked away and sighed, "Okay."

"Let's get on it then." Red-X stood up from the computer her had been working at and gathered his suit, "I'll be taking off in a little bit. If you need anything, you've got my cell number now."

"Yeah." Cy nodded, "See ya later, Bri."

Sarah waved as well with a smile and turned back to her boyfriend as X walked off, "So, where are you going to live after you leave the Tower?"

"Well, I know this girl... she's always complaining about how it's so hard to make rent and go to school at the same time, so I was thinking about asking her if she needed a roommate."

"Really?" Sarah winked, "I think she just might say yes."

Cy smiled back in a loving manner, "I'll have a job in no time. The JLA might have fired us, but we're still useful to the community as public figures. People will be clamoring to hire us."

Sarah's smile widened into an evil grin, "Want me to help you write a résumé? We could put down all your previous job experience." she held her hands up, forming a window with them in the air and acting as if she was reading something, "Computer hardware expert! Mechanic! Kicker of bad guy butt!"

"Quiet, you." Cy rubbed her head, and Sarah giggled.

* * *

Across the living room, Speedy stood in the kitchen sipping a mug of coffee. He looked up as Beast Boy walked in and nodded at him, "Hey. Sleep okay?"

"Hell no." Speedy shook his head, "Rea was gone all night. She still hasn't come back."

"She can take care of herself. I just hope that Jinx comes back at all. I... hurt her pretty bad I think."

"She'll be back. She probably just had to think things through. She and Rae are a lot alike in that respect." taking another sip of his coffee, Speedy nodded at his friend, "You sleep okay?"

"I'll be having nightmares about zombies and blood for the next five or six years." Beast Boy frowned as he pulled down a box of cereal and got out a bowl, "I don't know if I'll ever sleep okay again."

"Yeah." Speedy nodded in agreement, then started as the doors to the elevator leading to the garage opened. He turned to see who was coming in, "Rae?" he called.

"Sorry, Jason." Jinx stepped out of the elevator, still splattered with blood. She carried the Libris Mortis in one hand, and the staff in the other, "I thought Raven came back with you guys..."

"She took off again after we were handed down orders from the JLA... you'd better sit down for this."

"Later." Jinx waved it off, "I... did something while I was out..." she shuffled her feet, and glanced through the still open doors of the elevator. Beast Boy walked over and stood next to Speedy, his eyes asking her all the questions she couldn't answer. After a few moments of stalling, she just sighed, "Oh, what the hell. There's no easy way to do this, so... come on."

Speedy and Beast Boy both felt their jaws drop as Terra stepped off the elevator. There was a beat of disbelieving silence, then the blond girl smiled weakly and said in a falsely cheerful voice, "Surprise!"

* * *

The sound of movement woke Starfire from her slumber, "Hmm... Richard?" she mumble.

There was a long pause, then a familiar voice brought her fully awake, "No, Kori, it's me."

Sitting up and looking around, Star's eyes fell on Babs, who had maneuvered herself into her wheelchair and rolled over to the door. The events of the previous night came crashing back down on her then, and Star fell back to the pillows, "I... do not know if I can get up."

"Try to." Babs encouraged, "I'll have Alfred bring you some breakfast, but you should try to get up and do something today."

"Where are you going?"

"Bruce said he had something he needed to discuses with me today. I don't know what, but it's time for me to meet him in the foyer." she smiled back at the alien girl, "I'll catch up to you later today. We'll hang out."

"I would like that." Starfire nodded, "Though... I may have to think about my travel arrangements."

"Going back to Jump?" Babs asked.

"No," Star shook her head, "Without the Titans, and without Richard... I do not feel that I can stay here any longer... I am going back to Tameran."

* * *

Beast Boy found his voice first, "T-terra?" he asked, reaching out with trembling hands, "You... you're not... you were petrified, and Slade... Slade wasn't Slade, but he killed you, and-"

Terra stepped forward and put a finger on his lips, silencing him, "Jinx brought me back."

Beast Boy blinked, "Jinx?" he looked around the blonds shoulder at the pink haired girl, "You... how?"

Jinx held up the book and the staff, "This stuff doesn't do just zombies."

Speedy stepped up then, looking at Terra in a wary fashion, "But... isn't that all Black Magic?"

"Yes." Jinx nodded, "It took it's toll on both of us, but we're fine."

Speedy didn't look convinced, but let it go for the time being, "And Terra, you... you're better now, right? I mean... no more wanting to kill the Titans and destroy the city?"

"Slade did... horrible things to me. He tricked me, and he used me as a weapon against you guys..." she shook her head, "I'll never betray my true friends again. I want to be a Titan again."

"You're a little late." everyone whirled around to see Raven, standing just outside the elevator, holding the hand of a young girl dressing in a skirt and simple red blouse. Raven herself looked grim, "The Titans were disbanded by the JLA as of last night. We've been fired."

Jinx and Terra both felt stumbled, "What?" they said in unison.

"Apparently we didn't handle the situation last night in the proper manner. We fucked up big time, and they got rid of us. We're moving out of the Tower by the end of the week."

"But... that's not... how-" Jinx stuttered out before Raven cut her off.

"Robin was also killed last night in Gotham." the two girls stared at her in shock and she sighed, "I know it's a lot to take in, but with Terra here now, things just got a whole lot more complicated. I know I'm not technically in charge any more, but here's what I want you guys to do..." she looked around at all of them. Cyborg and Sarah were walking over now as well, looking more confused than anything else, "Jason, take Kylee up to my room and show her where she can get cleaned up. I'll be up to talk to you in a bit. Gar, Terra, go talk. You two have a lot to talk about. Cy," she turned to the robotic Titan as he and Sarah stepped into the kitchen, "You and Sarah should review our severance packages from the JLA. They should be in the system by now. Jinx!" Raven sounded angry for the fist time since she had come back to the Tower. Jinx had been trying to slip away un-noticed, and had made it across the room to the elevator that led to the upper floors before Raven had caught her. She looked back over her shoulder with wide, frightened eyes as Raven glared at her, "Put the artifacts of untold evil in the evidence lock up, then report to the medical lab. I'll meet you there to patch you up in a little bit, and we'll have a nice long chat. You know what about."

Jinx nodded once and Raven looked around at everyone, "Well? Hop to it!"

* * *

"This is the bathroom in here." Speedy showed Kylee the connected bathroom in Raven's room, "Rae really pampers herself with expensive stuff, so I'm sure you'll find everything you need."

"Shut up, Jason." Raven stalked into the room behind them and walked directly to her closet, "I'll see if I can find something for you to wear, okay, Kylee?"

"Okay." the young girl nodded and stepped into the bathroom. She paused, and turned back to Speedy, "Which Titan are... were you?"

Speedy smiled sadly, "I'm Speedy."

"Are you and Raven married?"

"Not yet. Maybe someday."

"Raven said I could live with her. Are you going to live with us too?"

Speedy's smile went away, "I don't know yet. I'm still part of Titan's East. I'll have to contact them."

Kylee smiled at him weakly, "I... wouldn't mind if you lived with us. It would almost be like having a family again."

With that, she stepped back into the bathroom and quickly shut the door. Speedy stood up straight and looked over at Raven's closet. Walking over, he leaned on the door frame and looked in on her.

"You're going to adopt her?" he sounded disbelieving.

"I'm going to get guardianship. I know some people down in child services."

"She doesn't have anyone else?"

"No... she'd become a ward of the state, and I don't want to see her in an orphanage." Raven sighed and stopped rummaging through her things, "It's... important to me, Jason. She was right in the middle of it... her parents were probably eaten, and it's a miracle she survived at all. I just... think she'd be better with me."

Speedy's eyes softened, "Us." he said.

"Us?" Raven looked over at him, "Jason, I'm sure you could go back to Titans East-"

"I want to stay with you." he cut her off with a degree of finality she didn't argue with, "If you're done with the hero gig, than so am I. Besides... Kylee seemed to want a family. With the both of us... she'll kind of have one."

Raven stood up and walked over to her boyfriend. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she fell into his embrace. They stood like that for several minutes before she whispered, "Thank you."

* * *

Babs looked around in awe, "What is this place, Bruce?"

The billionaire had taken her down to Tricorner directly from the Manor, and had stopped the expensive sports car he had been driving right in front of a large clock tower. From there, he had wheeled her up the wheelchair ramps inside, all the way to the top, where the face of the clock served as a huge window.

It faced out from a large room with polished hardwood floors. Doors off the main room revealed a kitchen, a bathroom, and a few bedrooms. Babs was looking around with wide eyes.

"This," Bruce said with a small smile, "is your new apartment."

"What?" she spun her chair around and stared at him with an open mouth, "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. There's just one condition."

"What's that?" her eyes told him that the condition could be just about anything and she'd say yes.

"If a certain costumed crime fighter drops by in need of medical attention or a place to rest, you'll always have open doors."

Her eyes softened and she smiled at him, "Of course Bruce. You know you're always welcome at my home, be it here or any where else."

"In that case, let me give you a tour. We'll start with the hidden rooms back here, where you have your own T-3 line connection to the Net and act as your own ISP..."

* * *

After the Titans had broken up to carry out Raven's final orders, they had all gone separate ways, save for two of them. Beast Boy and Terra stood exactly where they were, staring at each other.

After several minutes, Beast Boy stepped forward, took her hand, and led her to the elevator. They went down, exiting the Tower on the West side. A short walk later and they were sitting on the rocky beach staring out over the ocean, facing away from the devastated city.

After fifteen minutes of silence, Beast Boy finally spoke, "So... Jinx brought you back, huh?"

"Yeah..." Terra was slow to respond, "She used that book of dark magic and that staff thingy. It... um... took away five years of my life. I'm physically nineteen now."

"That's kind of creepy. What happened to Jinx? She doesn't look any different."

Terra shook her head, "I don't know. She didn't say."

They sat in silence again for a long time, then Beast Boy broke it again, "Why'd you do it, Terra?"

He hadn't defined what exactly _it_ was but she knew anyway. Closing her eyes, she sighed, "Slade... he offered me control. He offered me power, and fame, and money, and everything I ever wanted... or everything I thought I wanted. I thought the only way to ever really gain total control of my powers was to stay with him, to learn from him... to be his apprentice."

Beast Boy was silent, so she pressed on, "I wanted control. I was sick of being a freak. I was sick of not... fitting in. Raven had so much control... and Star, her powers are like, second nature. You just shape shift like you were born to, and Cy... well, Cy really was built to do everything he does. Robin had trained so hard and so long to be perfect... I just didn't want to wait. I didn't want to have to work at it." she trailed off and sighed again, "Slade showed me the quick way. The brain altering way."

"He messed with your brain?"

"Kind of. It was more of a reprogramming of the part of my brain that controls my powers. He used some advanced gene therapy of some sort... he was kind and good to me. He was harsh in his training, true, but when he wasn't teaching me to fight, he was almost... like the father I'd never had."

"Forgive me if I don't see Slade as the neutering parent type." Beast Boy's voice was harsh as he faced away from her.

"I tried to grow up to quickly." a tear trickled down her face, "If I were a normal girl that would have meant finding some leather clad bad boy and sleeping with him, but for a super powered chick like me, it meant finding an evil master mind and trying to kill the only people in the world who ever really cared for me." she laughed a bitter little laugh, "I guess we never have normal problems do we?"

"No, we don't." Beast Boy sighed and turned back to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her close to him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and cried as he held her. He took a deep breath, "When you died... when it was all over... I was crushed. It... really hurt. You had turned back to us, did the right thing in the end... and you still died. That hurt more than anything. Not the fact that I had loved you, not the fact that a team mate had just died... that you had tried to come back, only to be killed in the end anyway." he shook his head and squeezed her, "You deserved better. So what are you going to do with your second chance?"

"What do you mean?" she sniffed and sat up.

"Well, the JLA told us to hold off on the hero work until we're older, but you were still dead when that order came down, so it doesn't really apply to you."

"I think..." she smiled, "I think I'd like to retire with you guys. I don't think I can ask for a third chance after this one." she leaned into him, "I plan on living my life to the fullest while I still can. I'm down a year on you guys, remember."

"Yeah. Living a normal life wont be so bad, huh?"

"Yeah." she smiled at him widely, "Full life living starts now, with you." and she grabbed him around the shoulders and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

It only took him a few seconds to melt into her and deepen the kiss. They stayed like that for several seconds before she pulled away and grinned in a saucy manner.

"Wow... that was... we really should have done that before." he grinned at her, "Maybe you wouldn't have left for Slade then."

"Well, I'm sure I'm no Jinx, but..."

"Oh..." Beast Boy blushed, "So she told you about us kissing huh?"

"She told me about you sleeping with her, B."

"What?" he gawked at her, "She told you about all that _already_?"

Terra just leaned back and laughed as Beast Boy's skin took on a decidedly red ting all over.

* * *

Jinx's eyes were watering again.

The cartilage in her nose had been pushed around enough to slice up the tender tissue inside, which had continued to ooze slightly ever since she had re-set it. Now she had two long q-tips covered in a mild acid shoved up her nose and against the lacerations, cauterizing them shut.

It hurt like hell, but she felt she kind of deserved it.

After she pulled the bloody q-tips out and tossed them in the trash, she set about taking off the bits of cloth she'd torn from the clothes in the store Terra had picked up her clothes at. She had used them to wrap the worst of her cuts and scrapes, and now they were pulling away in sticky and covered in grime and blood.

"I need a shower..." she mumbled. Glancing around, she saw a privet room off to the side of the medical lab that housed a bath tub, "Or a sponge bath."

Ten minutes later, she was sitting naked in a tub full of warm water, cleaning her cuts with a soft cloth. The water was soothing, and she soon found herself just laying there and soaking.

An untold amount of time later, she heard the doors to the medical lab open. There was a pause in the foot steps, then they walked directly to the door of the bath area and opened the doors.

Jinx looked up to see Raven standing there, hold some clothes in one hand, and a towel in the other, "Come on, Jenny. Let's get you patched up."

Jinx nodded and stood up out of the bath, accepting the offered towel. After a few minutes, she was sitting on one of the beds in the lab, wearing only her underwear, and letting Raven tend to her wounds.

"I can do this stuff myself, you know." she said as Raven dabbed at one of the cuts on her leg with a bit of gauze.

"I'm just making sure nothing is infected before I heal you entirely. Hold still."

Jinx fell silent again, and waited. She knew it was coming. Even after only really knowing Raven for a week or so, she knew the other girl was about to-

"Did you have fun playing with the worlds Blackest Magic?"

Jinx winced, "No. I did it for a reason though."

"And bringing Terra back to steal away your boyfriend was worth the price you paid?"

Jinx was silent again for a moment. Raven continued to work.

Looking down at her friend, Jinx saw the intense look of concentration Raven had on her face, diligently cleaning every cut so that she could ensure a clean heal. It touched her that the dark psion could be so tender and angry at the same time. She cared for her friends, and Jinx suddenly felt a swelling of affection for the girl next to her.

"I want him to be happy."

"He could have been happy with you."

"Do you not like Terra?"

"We never really got along when she was with the Titans, no. I checked her emotions and mind over once when I came in with Kylee, and she definitely wants to make up for what she's done, but that's beside the point. The point is, you didn't have to do what you did. You weren't thinking straight, and now, if we ever to go back to crime fighting, you'll be short a few tricks."

Jinx stared at her. Raven looked up into the pink haired girl's eyes, "What? Just because I don't _use _the spells in the Libris Mortis, doesn't mean I haven't _read _them. I knew we could bring Terra back the way you did, but I wasn't willing to give up my magic to do it."

"So... you know that I'm useless in a fight now." Jinx looked away.

"No, not useless. Robin was hardly useless in a fight. If you ever decide to go back to the vigilante life style though, you're going to have to get a lot better than you are now."

"Well, since we've been sacked that's pretty much a non-issue isn't it?"

"No." Jinx looked over at Raven, surprised to hear a tone of cunning in her voice. Raven grinned, "Just wait. When things start to go to hell again... you just wait."

Jinx smiled weakly, "Guess I'd better get back to training, huh?"

"After I heal you." Raven held out a glowing black hand, "Hold still."

* * *

Starfire stepped into the main room of the clock tower apartment that now belonged to Babs Gordan. Looking around, she called out, "Babs! I am here!"

"Back here!" came the reply. Following the sound of the voice, Star walked through a panel in the wall that had been moved to reveal a secret area that was almost the same size as the apartment it's self. She found Babs leaning over in her chair, plugging a laptop into a cable coming out of the wall.

"You wished to see me about something before I stated making plans to leave?" Star asked as she watched the other red head sit up and turn the laptop on.

"Yeah... look around this place for me, will ya?"

Star did so, "It is quite large for just one person. Bruce's gift is quite nice."

"Yeah... Kori, if I were to offer you a job, would you think about it?" Babs turned to her and smiled.

"A job?" Star blinked, "I guess that would depend on the job, and the nature of the work to be done."

"Well, you see, I had this idea..." Babs turned back to her computer, "Bruce gave me a line of credit, much like the one Dick had, and told me to set myself up however I like. Well, that got me thinking about all the great hardware I could buy... and that got me thinking about all the crooks out there that never expect a digital attack."

"What are you saying?" Star's mouth was starting to twitch up into a smile. Babs had an infectious attitude, and it was rubbing off on the Tameranian.

"What I'm saying is that I can bust the bad guys from Cyberspace all I want to, Kori, but I would still need a field agent to do the leg work for me, if you'll pardon the pun."

Star stared at her, "You wish... for me to stay here in Gotham and help you?"

"If that seems like too much, then I could use some help... moving in as it were. At least stick around and think about it while you help me get set up."

Star grinned, "Batgirl the computer expert?"

"No, I need a new name. Batgirl was the old me... this new crime fighting me... needs a different handle."

"Do you have any ideas?"

Babs smiled a grim smile, "I think I'll call myself The Oracle."

* * *

As the noon hour approached, one by one, the Titans started to find their way to the living room. As the clock struck 12:00 exactly, Beast Boy and Terra walked in from outside and sat down on the couch, on either side of Jinx. The pink haired girl was a little shocked by it, and looked at both of them before smiling weakly and settling back.

Speedy sat in a squashy arm chair not far away, Raven curled up on his lap. Cyborg leaned against the computer array next to the TV, with Sarah sitting in the chair next to him.

All of the Titans looked at each other with small smiles for a few moments.

"So what's it look like, Vic?" Speedy finally asked.

"Well, the packages aren't bad, but we'll definitely need jobs if we're going to pay the rent for more than six months or so. Apartment vacancies have opened up all over the city-"

"Several thousand, I bet." Raven mumbled. Speedy pinched her rear and she yelped.

Cyborg chuckled at them before he continued, "They want us out of the Tower by the end of the week. That gives us time to find places to live and move all of our stuff."

"What about Starfire?" asked Jinx.

"We got a communiqué from her just a little while ago actually." Sarah replied with a small frown, "She said she's going to be staying in Gotham for now to help Batman. A secure JLA jet will be here to move her stuff in the morning."

"Are you two going to live together?" Raven arched an eyebrow at Cyborg and Sarah.

"Yeah. What about you two? And where did that kid go, Rae?"

"Kylee is sleeping in my room." Raven shook her head, "She was right in the middle of the Cursed Dead out there... I'd rather it be me helping her move past the horrors she saw than some stressed out, under paid social worker. She _needs_ an empath to help her."

"We're going to apply for guardianship and become her foster parents." Speedy said with a slight blush, "And we'll have our own place, yeah."

"Well," Beast Boy sat up and looked at the two girls next to him, "Guess we'll just have to get our own place then, huh?"

"Wait..." Jinx blinked, "All three of us?"

"Yeah." Terra placed a hand on her shoulder, "We don't know what's going to happen, Jinx, but we figured rent is cheeper with three than with two, so... let's give it a shot, eh?"

Jinx nodded slowly as a smile spread on her face.

Cyborg suddenly stood up and clapped his hands, "Well, there's no telling what the future holds, but as far as I'm concerned, tonight we're still the Titans."

"Yeah." Raven got up off of Speedy's lap and smiled as well, "Let's do one last Titanish thing."

"Like what?" Speedy arched an eyebrow up at her.

"Order pizza of course!" Cyborg shouted, "Booya! Meat Lovers here I come!"

"Aw, no!" Beast Boy leapt off the couch and grabbed him about the neck as he charged for the phonebook in the kitchen, "We are NOT ordering all meat pizza!"

As the rest of the evening descended into chaos, the Titans thought of nothing except each other. There would be time the next day to think about where they were going, what they were going to do, and how they were going to go about all of it. There would be worry, and stress, possibly tears of sorrow, and definitely tears of sadness as they left their home behind. They would grow up, and they would move on. But for the rest of that night, they we exactly who they had been for the past five years.

They were the Teen Titans.

* * *

Closing Notes: Thank you, thank you, thank you, to each and every one of my readers that reviewed. Your encoragement and compliments mean the world to me. As I start in on the next story, I hope you'll all remain faithful readers, as well as faithful reviewers. The next one is going to be slower, but I'll make up for that in the fourth and finally instalment of the Music of Jump City Series.

Reviewer responses!

cyberclock - Did I kill Robin? Hmm... I don't remember killing Robin...

Terra Basher -Your handle tells me you hate me right now. Terra's not so bad though... and who knows? Maybe you'll like the way I write her...

Heaven's Angel - Yes, Jason Todd (never liked that punk) did get his refrence with the crow bar to the head Dick took, then getting blown up by the Joker. That can't feel good. But Jason died. I'll leave you with that bit of crypticness. Is that a word? Crypticness? Hmm...

The Nanosaur - In the comics, Tim Drake is the third Robin, after Jason Todd (See the comment above) but since I don't like Jason all that much (too rash for me) I skipped him in the story. And why's everybody so down on Cy? It's like... everyone wanted him dead. I don't get it.

NalaravatheRed - Chapter 10 review, but oh well. Yeah, blood, zombies, more blood, more zombies and some blood. A little bit about Raven's sex life, a few jokes, and that's chapter 10. Boy was it fun to write. :)

Sympathique - I've recently been trying to hack my way through 'These Black Eyes' and I'm on chapter like, thiry something now... only what? 200 more to go? Post writes some CRAZY long stuff. Starting from the begining is hard, but you have to in order to understand anything. And yes, no body, no dead Robin. Glad you picked that up. :)

StarryRavenFire - I'm really sorry to hear your father passed... it's always hard to loose someone that close to you. I feel you. Thanks for reading and reviewing anyway though! Hope this chapter was able to pick you up a bit. I figured that I messed around with everyone except Jinx really bad. So why not screw over Jinx too? Giving up her magic to bring Terra back was stupid, but it just might work out for her in the end. You'll just have to keep reading.

Stolen Valkyrie - Another chapter 10 review! The story topped out at exactly 230 pages without coments and reveiwer responses. Moving on to chapter 11, I have a comment about Star: her powers are extreamly closely tied to her emotions, yes. She's been walking around not flying, and she hasn't exactly been shooting starbolts either. She's in shock. Wait until the next story, when her emotions are decidedly negitive, and see what she's like. I have big plans for the little princess.

MintPizzaQueen - Hey, don't shoot the messenger. Green Lantern was just passing on the info. And they must end because it's fits my plot line. Heh. I'll have the next story up and started soon, I promise.

goldfish demon -Yes. :)

Yeliak - The explination comes in the nextstory. Be sure to check it out, and put me on your e-mail updates list if you haven't already so you can read it as soonas Ipost it.

yournotthebossofme! -A lot of fans showing an outpouring of love for Robin.Did you catch the bit with Dr. Thompkins? That should answer most of your questions. :)

Kokuryu -I needed a reason to shut down the Titans. Soway back before I started writing JCS, I intertwined the JLA with the Titansso there could be a lack of funding issue. It all worked out. :)

ravene-It's really easy to off a Robin. You just bash itin the head with a crowbar, then blow it up. See? No more Robin! Atleast, not for now...

MaNiAc - I hope you lived long enough for this update to come out. As you can see,Robin may still be around, but that's still up in the air... oh who am I kidding? Any idiotcan see that I didn't off Robin, orTim. They play a big role in the next story though, so keep reading!

* * *

Next Story!

Summer comes to Jump and Gotham Cities, and brings with it a whole host of new problems for the Titans. Problems like, how to scrape enough money together to pay the rent? Problems like, why is there nothing to eat except Ramen? Problems like, how are they supposed to NOT use their powers and abilities when there are so many evil people our there just begging for a beat down?

As Starfire helps Babs establish herself as the Oracle, and the Titans adjust to civilian life, two dark haired boys embark on a quest for self discovery. One trying to find out who he really is, and the other trying to find out what he really wants to become. The lazy heat of summer provides the perfect backdrop to our Intermission...

Enjoy the brife rest, and listen to the sweet tones of the Gotham City Concerto.


End file.
